


Domestic

by CaptnSlash



Category: Power Rangers Dino Charge
Genre: Domestic Violence, Low Self-Esteem, M/M, Outing, Secret Crush, minor depression
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-04-07
Updated: 2016-09-19
Packaged: 2018-05-31 19:45:28
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 40
Words: 52,715
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6485179
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CaptnSlash/pseuds/CaptnSlash
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Riley is enjoying his life as a Power Ranger. He gets along great with his new friends and feels like his life is on the right track. He never expected for his ex-boyfriend, Aaron, to show up in Amber Beach. Aaron's return brings up a mess of buried emotions and leads to some of Riley's secrets being exposed after a serious physical assault.</p>
<p>Warning: Domestic Violence is featured in this story. **TRIGGER WARNING**</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This idea came to me while I was trying to create an interesting scenario to pair Riley and Chase together. I wanted it to be something different than what I usually write. Since domestic violence is also possible in LGBT relationships, the subject matter seemed to fit. 
> 
> As I have never experienced domestic violence personally, this story is based off of how I assume characters would act and feel, as well as portrayals I have seen in television and movies. I apologize if my scenario doesn't adequately reflect what a person experiences when dealing with a situation such as domestic violence.
> 
> -If you feel that you have been or currently are experiencing domestic violence, please seek help. Call the National Domestic Violence Hotline (USA only, contact your country's social service organizations for local numbers if you live out of the US) at 1-800-799-SAFE.-

For once, things were pretty normal. There were no monsters jumping out of the shadows to cause trouble around town; every member of the team was safe and accounted for. The cafe was busy but in no way unbearable. Riley was actually having a pretty good day, especially since he had an email from his mother in his inbox earlier in the morning before he left for work.

He was bussing a table and taking the dirty dishes back to the dishwasher when a figure stepped in his way and blocked his path. It didn't click at first, and he supposed that little fact had to do with how safe he felt in Angel Beach. He had friends, classes, and a job, and as far as he knew, the guy that he most wanted to forget was going to stay long gone.

The prospect of said guy showing up at his work had never once entered his mind.

"It figures I'd find you in a place like this. How are ya doing, baby?"

Riley clutched the tray and pulled it in close to his chest as a way to create a barrier between them. It was a self-defense mechanism, a way to protect himself from the threat that he was sensing, almost like an autonomous biological response. He knew smiles could be deceiving, that a person could switch from docile to violent like the flip of a switch.

He didn’t miss hearing that voice, or the way hearing it made him feel. ”Aaron? What are you doing here?"

The guy shrugged his shoulders. He stood a couple inches taller than Riley and his clothes seemed to be designed for him alone to accentuate and flaunt his physique. His sense of style was nothing new, nor was his nonchalant attitude. But Riley knew it was all just an act. 

”I’m in town with some friends for my birthday. We're having a party at the beach tonight. You should stop by."

Riley was suddenly insecure. Memories flashed in his head and a lot of emotions were stirred up all over again from the place where they had finally began to settle. He cleared his throat and looked past Aaron, but none of his friends were paying attention to what he was doing.

"Thanks, but I already have plans with some friends."

Aaron frowned. "Do you have some hot boyfriend that I should be jealous about?"

Riley avoided meeting his eyes. "No."

"That's a shame. You're quite a catch, Riley. Well, I guess I'll see you around."

Riley walked past him and into the safe confines of the kitchen. He turned back in time to see Aaron looking at him and smiling. When he saw that Riley looked back, Aaron winked before heading out of the cafe and disappearing from sight .

"Are you okay?" Shelby asked, suddenly in front of him.

He blinked a couple of times and nodded. "Sure."

He took the dirty dishes to the dishwasher and loaded it. He preferred taking food orders, or even working the grill, but he had bet Shelby and she won fair and square, so his duty for the next two days was collecting and doing the dishes. He was thankful that he had the excuse to retreat into the kitchen and that was where he planned to stay until he was certain it was safe.

He listened to the whirring sound of the automatic dish washer as it started up. His thoughts drifted back to Aaron and everything that had gone wrong.

He couldn't believe he was thinking it, but the guy still looked good.


	2. Chapter 2

Riley was able to push Aaron out of his mind before he went to the karaoke competition with his teammates. He wasn't brave enough to sing even though his voice wasn't that terrible, and he was secretly hoping to find out if Chase could carry a tune. He suspected he couldn't by the way he seemed to hunker down in his chair every time a girl walked over to him and invited him to join them on stage.

Riley was distant and quiet, even more so than usual when he was in one of his contemplative moods, and all his friends noticed. Shelby was waiting for him when he came out of the bathroom. Her arms were crossed and she held a stern look on her face to signal that she wasn't in the mood to be ignored. “You’re acting weird. Are you feeling okay?"

"I'm fine." It was a lie, but he thought it sounded believable enough.

She didn't buy it. Her hands unfolded and came to rest on her hips. "You've been out of it all day. What's going on with you?"

"Nothing's going on. I ran into someone I knew from back home is all."

Her features softened and her hands relaxed, falling down to her sides. "Really? Are they here?"

Riley shook his head. A song from one of the '90s boybands started playing and the two girls singing were butchering it horribly. "No, I saw him earlier at the cafe. Uh, we should get back to the table before Chase pulls a prank and signs us up for a song."

He could tell that she realized there was more to his story, as well as his plea to retreat from the conversation. He was thankful when she didn't push him for more information. He followed her back to the table and was greeted by Chase, who was now standing, before he had a chance to sit down. "Do you want to get out of here?" He asked him.

Riley didn't hesitate. "Yes," he admitted.

Chase motioned for him to follow him and he did after telling Shelby and Tyler goodbye while they took turns trying to explain karaoke to Koda. Shelby shot Riley a look of concern as he walked out through the double wooden doors, a slightly warm breeze hitting his face. He followed Chase down the street and they stopped at a picnic table near a small community garden and sat down.

"Thanks for coming with me, mate. I couldn't stand it in there."

"Neither could I. I don't mind the music so much as I mind the bad singing."

Chase laughed. ”Me too, bro. I was scared someone was going to pull me up there and make me sing."

"You mean you're actually afraid to sing in public? _You_?"

The black ranger shrugged. "I don't do so good with that many people staring at me at the same time."

That elicited a smile. "Wait, you're the biggest flirt that I know. You love getting attention from anyone and everyone. How can you have trouble with people watching you sing?"

"It's an irrational fear, baby raptor; it doesn't have to make any sense at all. You didn't exactly volunteer to jump on stage and sing,” Chase countered.

Riley laughed the idea off. "That's because I can't sing. I would have gotten kicked out of the place if I got up on that stage."

Chase nodded in an understanding manner and Riley couldn't help but feel that his friend understood perfectly. "Good to know. Let’s hope our lives never depend on us singing, eh? Now, tell me what’s been going on with you today."

“Did Shelby say something to you?” Riley wondered.

Chase licked his lips as Riley couldn’t help but stare. “No, but this proves I’m not imagining it. If I am then that would mean that Shelby is as well."

Riley sighed. He liked spending time with Chase. In fact, he liked it a little too much, but the fact that he liked Chase wasn't something he could just spit out. The same went for the details of his and Aaron's series of bad choices. As much as Riley valued the truth, he couldn’t deny the hypocrisy of his need to keep so many secrets.

He wanted to confess everything to Chase, if for no other reason than to have everything out in the open and not feel so fake, so hidden. Instead, Riley opted to tell him the same thing he told Shelby. 

“It’s nothing. I'm just a little distracted because I saw someone I knew from my home town,” he revealed.

“A female friend?”

He relented, accepting that his silence would just raise more questions that he didn't want to answer. He could just picture the team staging an intervention over bowls of ice cream and he wanted to avoid reaching that level of awkwardness. “No, it’s not an old girlfriend. He's in town for a birthday party at the beach and he invited me, which is strange after the way we left things."

Chase interlocked his fingers and tapped his thumbs together a couple of times. He relaxed slightly as he thought up a response to what Riley had revealed. "You should go to the party."

"What? Why?"

"He invited you to his birthday party, bro. That means he's put the past behind him and you should too."

Riley wondered if Chase would still say that if he knew the full story. A pang of guilt caused him to refocus. "No, it's probably better to let that chapter of my life stay closed. I already told him that I was busy with friends and wouldn't be able to make it. Hey, what are you doing for the next few hours?”

Chase's mood brightened. "Nothing that I can't put off until tomorrow. What do you have in mind?"

"Are you up for getting clobbered at mini golf?"

Chase laughed. "Challenge accepted. You think you're so good, but I've been practicing. I'm not as bad as I used to be."

"Then it's a da...an adventure." He stood up suddenly in the hope of hiding the fact that he was blushing. He wanted to kick himself over his poor choice of words and feared the worst. He was thankful when Chase didn't question him on it. 

"Lead the way," Chase said, having noticed what it was that Riley almost said, and the way he tried to not so smoothly cover it up.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> *Trigger Warning. This chapter contains scenes of domestic violence.

Riley was busy filling the salt shakers, so he didn't pay any attention to Shelby when she walked over to him. He was focused on not spilling and making a mess, a task that required him to be cautious and remain focused. That went to hell when Shelby playfully punched him in the shoulder. His hand slipped and salt went all over the countertop.

"Sorry!," Shelby exclaimed, though he doubted that she didn't have the forethought to know that was going to happen. She started giggling a half second later.

"Why did you do that?"

"I just talked to Chase and he told me you guys went and played mini golf last night."

"He did?" 

"Yes. Why didn't you invite us?"

"It wasn't really planned. We went for a walk when we left the karaoke bar and decided to do it after. We weren't trying to exclude anyone. I'm sorry if we hurt your feelings."

She bit her lip. "No, it isn't that. I just wanted to see his face when you scored three holes in one. You broke your own record!”

"I did! Chase insisted I cheated, but I eventually got him to admit that geometry and physics are on my side. If I were a superhero they would absolutely be part of my utility belt."

Shelby laughed at his joke. "It's nice to see you in a good mood. You had me worried about you last night and I probably just stirred stuff up instead of helping when I asked you to explain it all to me. I guess some time with Chase was exactly what you needed, hmm?"

A sense of worry washed over him as he wondered if she could see right through him. He knew he had to deflect her suspicions, if that's what they were, and knew to not exaggerate the truth too much to make the lie more believable. "I'm sure it was more the mini golf than the company, though Chase is a good friend. You all are."

“Wait here. I’ll go get the vacuum and help you clean this mess up."

He watched her head to the back of the cafe while he resumed filling the salt shakers. She returned before he had finished, but he put the lids on them anyway and sat them aside. Once the mess was cleaned up, she helped him get the tables set up in time to open for the lunch rush. 

"Don't forget that you're still on dishes duty, Riley."

He looked at her and frowned. "How could I possibly forget?"

"Forget what?" Chase questioned. He walked into the cafe and began to put on his apron as he waited for an answer.

"Just that I'm on dishwashing duty again today."

"Don't sweat it, mate. I'll keep you company."

He looked at Chase and felt his cheeks start to redden. "Thanks, but how are you going to do that and also work the grill?"

"It's Tyler's turn to work the grill. I'm floating, which means I can go wherever I'm most needed," he said. 

“Does that include helping the pretty girls get a date with you?” Shelby joked. 

Chase gave her a high five. “You know it!”

Riley's smile faded. His eyes caught sight of Chase's name tag and he stepped toward him and helped to adjust it, aware the entire time that Shelby was watching their interaction. He wasn't expecting for someone else to be watching too.

"Well, isn't this sweet."

He looked to the doorway and saw Aaron standing there, an expensive pair of sunglasses in his hand. He walked into the cafe and pointed at Chase with his thumb. "Is this the new boyfriend? I can't blame you for ditching my party last night if you were spending it with him."

Riley was certain he wasn't actually okay with that fact and his icy tone confirmed it. "The cafe doesn't open for another fifteen minutes, but you can have a seat while we finish getting everything ready."

Aaron waved his words off like they were meant for other people. "Aren't you going to introduce me? It's the least you can do after making me look pathetic to my friends when you didn't show up last night."

Riley’s level of annoyance began to rise. ”Why would you even tell your friends about me?"

Aaron got an all too familiar look on his face and Riley took a step away from him. He walked behind a chair that was sticking out from a table and used it to put some distance between them, forgetting all about the fact that he was a Power Ranger now and more than capable of defending himself. 

"Fine. Aaron, this is Shelby and Chase. Guys, this is Aaron."

Chase shook his hand. Aaron all but ignored Shelby and he could see that his rude behavior was making Shelby annoyed. Riley walked over to her and stood by her side, only feeling his own fear and worry subside when he had the opportunity to provide his friend with support.

Chase was the first to speak to Aaron. "It's nice to meet you. Riley told us that you two know each other from back home."

"Did he? Yes, it was a pretty dreadful place. I was glad to escape it, though I would have preferred to take my boyfriend with me."

Riley could feel Shelby looking at him now, and even Chase turned to him for an explanation. "Would you guys excuse us for a minute? I'll be back before we open."

He walked out of the cafe and Aaron had followed him as Riley had expected. He led his ex around the corner so they couldn’t be overheard and turned back to face him. "I want to thank you for the way you outed me back there. I hadn't told them yet."

A look of enjoyment washed over Aaron’s face. ”Really? They must not be very good friends of yours if you haven't told them your biggest secret."

"I was getting to it. Not everyone is as comfortable in their skin as you are."

Aaron stared. "Apparently. Do you honestly think that guy in there could ever like you? He's so out of your league. That accent of his is sexy, I'll give you that, but he's closer to the level of guys I can get."

Riley felt his jaw tighten. "I'm leaving now. Maybe you should just stay away from me?"

Aaron raised an eyebrow. "You know I can't do that. I came here for you, baby."

"You don't get to call me that anymore. We're done."

Riley barely saw him move for the first few seconds, but he quickly felt the tightness in his throat when Aaron grabbed hold and squeezed. He felt dizzy when his head was pushed back into the wall. "You need to be more kind to me! I came here to apologize and to tell you I still love you and this is how you act?"

"Let me go," Riley said. He felt powerless to stop Aaron, like the fear inside had taken control and was now in charge. All his inner strength had been shut down and it was like he could no longer access it.

"These people won't love you like I love you, Riley. You'll be all alone here if you don't come to Los Angeles with me."

"Let go," he pleaded again, even as Aaron's grip tightened more. He started to panic when his breathing became affected. 

Aaron let go of him. He pushed Riley up against the wall a second time. "Why do you make me do this to you, Riley? You know how much I love you and then you purposefully act antagonistic and cruel. I won't wait forever, baby. I think i'll come by later to see you and I hope you're in a better mood."

Riley watched him walk away. He allowed himself to slide down against the wall until he was sitting on the floor, his hand against his own throat. It all came back: the feelings of guilt and worthlessness, the mind numbing coping mechanism to explain away how anyone could treat another person with such cruelty, even the way he began to beat himself up for being so stupid, and the sense of denial that made him want to pretend that none of it ever happened. He felt all the progress he made start to slip away.

He heard Shelby calling his name and he stood up and ran to the nearby bathroom to splash water on his face. He frowned when he saw the bruises on his neck and he remembered how often he saw them there before Aaron had left town two years prior. He took a second to compose himself, once again putting on a mask to cover the parts of himself that he was afraid to let anyone else see.

He buttoned up the collar of his shirt and ignored the sting of his skin where the bruising was continuing to develop. He took a handful of deep breaths and looked at himself in the mirror, picturing the Power Ranger instead of the domestic abuse victim. He wanted so badly to escape and hide, but he knew his friends were counting on him and he wasn't going to abandon them just because Aaron had popped back into his life.

He left the restroom and walked back, placing a smile on his face when Chase and Shelby walked to him. "Sorry about that. We had some things to talk about. Everything's okay now"

Shelby looked unconvinced. "I called for you but you didn't answer me. Are you sure that things are okay?"

He nodded. "Absolutely. Chase, you better get the grill warmed up so that we can give the hungry people their food."

Chase looked conflicted, like there was a conversation between him and Riley playing out in his head and he was trying to find the best way to bring up what it was that he really wanted to talk about. When no one said anything, Chase walked into the kitchen and got to work.

"All the dishes are clean, so I'll fill the ice in the soda machine. Let me know if you need me to grab anything from the stock room."

“Sure,” Shelby said.

He felt Shelby’s eyes following him as he walked into the kitchen. He didn't even look at Chase as he walked past him, and he was relieved when the Kiwi didn't try to talk to him. He hoped that with enough time, everything that Aaron had told them would be forgotten. As a realist, he was aware that that wish wasn't likely to happen, but he had to focus on something and it was either that or try to decipher what he thought Aaron meant when he said that he would be back.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I would imagine being hurt by someone you cared about would be dehumanizing. I tried to reflect that with Riley's actions, but I also wanted to covey that he had been through this many times before, so while he took a few minutes to compose himself, he didn't let it completely shut him down. He was still able to go do work because he needed the distraction and because he had learned how to cope and hide what he'd been through, even if that didn't mean dealing with the problems he was facing.
> 
> I was worried that people would think it's too soon for Aaron to be hurting Riley after just coming back into his life. My thoughts were that Aaron, despite how much he has hurt Riley in the past, is still somehow able to gain control over him and manipulate him. I hope that's how it seemed to you when he read it.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> **Trigger Warning. This chapter contains scenes of domestic violence.

They made it halfway through the day before Riley was confronted with any questions. Shelby was busy flirting with Tyler while he worked the grill, and the dishwasher was running through a wash cycle, so Chase and Riley had a couple of minutes to bring up some supplies from the store room. They were both quiet as they walked there but all bets were off once they were inside, like Chase had purposefully waited to make sure they were alone before he brought it up.

"So..."

“Yes?”

Chase scratched the back of his neck. He was fidgeting and had a nervous smile, which had more to do with trying to be respectful of Riley than being afraid of bringing up the conversation. "You and Aaron were together?"

"Yeah, for six months or so."

"You never mentioned it."

"My relationship with Aaron?" Riley asked.

"Yeah, or being into guys in general."

He looked his friend in the eyes. He recognized that he could no longer run away from this aspect of himself. He had been debating telling them ever since he arrived in Amber Beach. "I didn't want you guys to act differently around me. It never seemed like the right time to bring it up and no one asked…”

"We're your friends, mate. Why would we treat you any different?"

"That's the first thing that people like me fear when telling other people about us. We're afraid they'll want to get away from us as fast as they can and avoid us, like being gay is something that a person can catch. We just want to be happy like everyone else."

"Why didn't you want to go to Aaron's party? It's obvious that he's still into you."

Riley didn’t understand what it was about himself that kept Aaron interested, but he suspected it had more to do with the fact that Riley never fought back. After all, why beat up a random stranger when you could come back and hit the guy you care about because they’ll always forgive you. Riley shook his head, hoping to make those thoughts disappear. 

“He likes the idea of me. Do you know where the cans of ketchup that we unloaded last week went to?"

Chase walked across the room and grabbed the two oversized cans. He placed them on the rolling cart and Riley crossed them off the list. 

"Are you saying that you don't want to get back together with him?"

"No, I don't. I'd be okay if I never saw him again."

"Good."

Riley's eyebrows raised as he questioned Chase's strong opinion. The black ranger shifted his weight to his other foot in a brief fit of nervousness, which was followed by a quick laugh. "I mean, he doesn't seem like the kind of guy that has your best interest at heart. He was kind of rude and snotty, especially to Shelby."

"Yeah, that's his default personality."

"Well, I'm glad I know. Um, can I ask you something else?"

"Go ahead, but you have to help me find the packets of allspice."

"They're underneath the shelf with the extra utensils. I guess I just want to know why he asked if I..." 

Chase went quiet. He seemed hesitant to continue and almost guilty for even bringing it up. It was easy enough for Riley to jump onto his train of thought.

"You want to know why he thought you were my boyfriend.”

"Yes. Is that weird?"

"No, it's a fair question. I think he could tell that I like you and he did it to get under my skin." His eyes zeroed in on the objects he was looking for. "There they are."

He collected the packets and added them into the rolling cart. He crossed those off the list and began searching for the last item: sugar.

"You - you like me?"

Riley was suddenly warm as his cheeks turned red. "You're an attractive guy with a compassionate heart and a good sense of humor. Why wouldn't I like you?"

"Well, I'm tone deaf and horrible at mini golf," Chase joked.

"You're not that bad at mini golf. Look, I understand if you don't want to go to the FunZone alone with me anymore."

Chase frowned. "Why wouldn't I want to spend time alone with you? We're mates."

"I'm gay and I have a crush on you, Chase. Ninety eight percent of straight guys would avoid spending time with guys like me in a similar situation."

"You're my best friend, Riley. I guess I'm in the other two percent."

Riley smiled but it lacked the elation behind it that he expected Chase's words to make him feel. The truth was that he was faking the smile because he had been through a situation like this before. He was afraid that Chase would tell him everything was fine one minute and then turn around and start spending more time with his other friends, easing him out of his life gradually to make the situation more comfortable. He half expected for Chase to never spend time with him again.

"I've got the sugar," he boasted, changing the subject. He collected the ten pound bag and placed it on the cart. The weight caused the wheels to squeak as he pushed it towards the door. 

The premise of losing his best friend began to pull on his focus, like a jailer keeping his other thoughts locked away so that he could concentrate only on what it would feel like to lose Chase. He didn't enjoy thinking that way and he decided the only option available to him was a test.

"Want to do something tonight?" Riley asked. "I could use another distraction."

Chase looked like his level of nervousness had quadrupled. "I would love to, mate, but I can't. I already have plans."

"A date?"

"Yeah."

He fought back against the pangs of jealousy and attempted to focus on being Chase's friend instead of the guy harboring a no-longer-secret crush. "It's fine, hotshot. What's her name?"

"Rachel. Maybe we can hang out tomorrow night?"

Riley shrugged; he wasn't going to be holding his breath. "Sure. That sounds good."

"Sweet. Well, we'd better get back before they send Shelby to find us."

They went back to work and didn't speak for the rest of the day. Chase left pretty quickly after his shift was over. Riley felt like his fear was beginning to manifest into reality and he wondered if his keeping his sexual orientation a secret was to blame.

He put on his jacket and walked out of the museum. Aaron was waiting by a black convertible with a single yellow tulip. Riley panicked, but there was nowhere for him to hide. He began walking, ignoring Aaron, but the guy wasn't going to let Riley leave without causing more strife.

He ran up to him and joined him on his walk. "Hey there, baby. You smell good."

"I smell like grease."

"Yeah, that's why you smell good. I forgive you, ya know."

"Do you?"

"I know that you weren't trying to make me jealous and you can't help who you're attracted to. I just want to protect you and I know that guy is nothing but trouble for you."

Riley took the bait and stopped walking. "You don't know anything about Chase. He's a good guy, one of the best that I've ever met."

"Then where is he right now?"

"On a date with a girl named Rachel."

Aaron laughed loudly, his level of enjoyment obvious. "I'm sorry, it's just that it is so like you to fall for a straight guy. You're a walking conglomeration of stereotypes."

"Thanks. You always knew how to make me feel good about myself," he said, his words laced with sarcasm so sharp that they could split a person in two. "I have to be going now."

"No, please don't go. I don't want to fight with you. I got you this flower to say I'm sorry for what I did. I thought maybe we could go get some ice cream and catch up."

"I don't think that's a good idea."

Aaron glared at Riley. His smile slipped away and the guy narrowed his eyes in a way that made Riley instinctively look around for an escape route. "You're wasting your time, Riley. That guy is never going to feel the same way about you. I'm not perfect, I know, but I'm here because I love you. Why can't you see that I just want you to be happy?"

Riley was done. ”Happy? You hurt me, Aaron, and I'm not just talking about emotionally. I'm talking about cuts and bruises, broken bones and concussions. I lied to my mother and brother to protect you, then I started lying to myself.”

"That's not fair! You know that I never meant to hurt you."

"I'm leaving now. You should go back to Los Angeles and get on with your life. Start by finding a psychologist and working through your anger issues. You're not a bad guy, Aaron, but you are dangerous, and you hurt people without taking responsibility for your actions."

"So you know everything there is to know about me, huh? Do you feel superior when you know that you're the smartest guy in the room?"

Riley stared and he wondered if he should even be concerned about Aaron and his feelings. As much as he knew he shouldn't, there was a part of himself that wanted to be a catalyst for Aaron to get help and better himself. If nothing else, it would mean that he hurt and cried himself to sleep all those nights to lead up to a moment of transformation.

But Aaron was stubborn and manipulative, constantly twisting Riley's words around to suit his own agenda. It bothered Riley to have his own words used against him, so much so that he felt like he couldn't just let it go. "I'm not...that's not what I meant."

"Riley, I love you. Please don't do this to me."

"We're over, Aaron. You never should have come here."

Riley turned and started to walk away. He was surprised when Aaron didn't continue trying to keep him from going, and he didn't scream or throw a temper tantrum either. Instead, he tackled Riley to the ground and began hitting him.

Riley was taken by surprise and he was disoriented by the first few blows. His hands and arms raised to cover the back of his head, but it didn't help much when Aaron pushed his face into the concrete of the sidewalk. Riley tasted blood and he tried to get up and get away, but a sharp blow to his stomach made him gasp for air. 

He was rolled over onto his back and the look in Aaron's eyes was murderous. "I'll show you what you deserve. You're a selfish piece of shit, Riley. No one will want to look at you by the time I'm through, especially Chase!”

Aaron punched him in the face multiple times and kicked him in the abdomen a second time before he retreated to his car and sped off. Riley managed to sit up despite the pain. He coughed up and spat blood onto the concrete next to him to match the other stains of blood left from his face. His upper lip was split and swollen, his right eye only able to be opened half way. He stood up and immediately lost his balance.

He tried again after taking a minute, falling towards a tree that he had crawled to, but he recovered when his hand touched the trunk and gave him the support he needed to remain upright. He wanted Chase to appear there in that moment. He wanted his friend to tell him that it was all going to be okay. He wanted to call him and interrupt his date, but he also couldn’t bear for his friend to see him so pathetic. 

He walked back to the museum and ignored the couple of stares from people walking through the parking lot. He entered the base and was thankful when it was evident that he was alone. He grabbed the first aid kit and took it to the table while sitting in the closest chair. He wanted to take a shower and wash away his disgrace, but his logical mind told him that he needed to triage his injuries first.

He didn't hear the sound of footsteps coming up behind him until it was too late to try to run and escape being seen. He heard Miss Morgan gasp as she got a look at him. "Riley, what happened to you?!”

"I'm fine.” His voice was strained.

"No, you're not," she said. "Were you attacked by Vivix?"

"No, I was attacked by my abusive ex-boyfriend. Not once, but twice in the same day. You'd think I would know to run in the other direction at the first sign of him, but I'm an idiot."

"Stop talking like that. You didn’t do anything to be treated like this and you certainly don’t deserve it."

He wanted to believe that, and he supposed he did somewhere in the recesses of his mind, but those scars had long ago been covered with scar tissue and it was now ten times harder to get at what was underneath all of the self doubt and humiliation. ”I should go home. I'm kind of tired and I think a nap will help me feel better."

She shook her head. "I'm taking you to the hospital. You probably have a concussion and I'm not letting you out of my sight until the police find this guy."

That made Riley laugh. "Police? That's a good one."

"Why is that funny?"

"His father is the sheriff back home. Aaron won't even be arrested for this. They'll sweep this under the rug and tell me that it’s my word against his and that it isn’t worth trying to prosecute him. They’ll suggest I I get on with my life and keep my mouth shut."

Kendall frowned. It was caused by concern and worry for the most part, as well as the fear that he might actually be right. “Are you sure that's what would happen?”

Riley looked at her. His eyes were burning and he no longer cared that he was crying. “It’s what happened the other times…”


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I just want to take a moment to thank all of your for leaving such encouraging comments. They really make me enjoy writing and sharing my stories, so thank you! Even if you don't leave a comment, I appreciate the kudos and the shares.

The hospital wasn’t overly busy, but it still took them almost an hour of waiting before they were taken to an exam room. A nurse took some basic medical history information from him and then left them alone after promising a doctor would come in to see him as soon as one was available.

"I don't want anyone to know about this."

Kendall sighed and she kneeled in front of him. "Riley, this isn't something that you can hide from your friends. It's going to take you weeks to heal.”

"Why so long? I thought the energem helps us to heal faster."

She grew still and looked into his eyes. ”The energem isn’t working right now. Remember?”

Riley frowned. He was having trouble focusing and the fatigue was getting more difficult to ignore. His right hand raised to the cord around his neck. He pulled the energem away and held it in his hands.

The color was muted. It’s former bright green hue had been replaced by a dull gray. It looked sick and almost as bruised as Riley felt.

“What happened to it?"

Kendall shook her head slowly. “Riley, we just had this conversation a few minutes ago. You don't remember?"

"No."

Kendall looked around the exam room to ensure that no one was listening to their conversation. She returned her attention to Riley and tried to be delicate with her words. ”The power of the energem has somehow been disrupted. It isn’t active which means that it isn’t helping you to heal. You’re powerless at the moment.”

“Because of what happened to me?” He questioned.

Kendall Morgan shrugged. It didn’t exactly fill Riley with any sense of safety at the moment, but he figured that she would help him find the answers he needed once he was allowed to leave the hospital. 

Kendall stood up. ”Don’t worry about that for right now. We’ll talk to Keeper and get to the bottom of it once you’re home. In the meantime, we need to focus on getting you healthy and safe.”

“Thanks."

“I think I should call your mom and brother. I know that you’re legally an adult now, but I think they’d want you to let them know what happened.”

“No, I can’t put them through this again. They’ll think I encouraged it somehow, that this is my fault.”

“I’ve heard you talk about them to the others, Riley. They would never think any of this is your fault.”

“I promise that I’ll call them once I get out of here. I probably won’t even need stitches.”

She sighed. “Can I call Chase?”

“No! He's on a date with Rachel and I don’t want to interrupt them."

She was surprised by his answer and concerned with his decision. "Riley, he'd want to be here for you. Everyone would like to be.”

“No, he probably wants to stay as far away from me as he can get right now. Maybe he should."

She shook her head and placed a hand on his shoulder. ”That’s not true. Why would you think that?"

"He doesn't want to be around me."

She used the moment of her surprise to adjust her glasses and brush her hair off of her shoulders. “Did you two have some kind of fight? Did he actually say that?"

He bit his tongue to avoid spilling the whole story to her before realizing that he was tired of living a lie. "He doesn't have to. He found out that I have an ex-boyfriend, that I’m gay, and that I have a crush on him. All of that happened in the last eight hours."

Kendall remained stoic which gave Riley the impression that some of what he told her didn’t come as a complete surprise. ”None of that matters right now."

“I don’t want anyone to see me like this. Can’t you understand that?” He snapped.

She leaned back from him, surprised by his anger. She started to respond but she was cut off by the returning nurse. The woman brought along a Doctor and a second nurse to help fill out the paperwork required during his exam.

Riley explained everything that happened to him during the assaults. Kendall stayed by his side and offered him moral support, though she was worried that her presence was causing Riley to feel embarrassed and uncomfortable. He was sent for an x-Ray and received a handful of stitches on his most serious lacerations. The abrasions around his neck had turned an even darker shade since he looked at them in the mirror earlier in this day.

His injuries were all documented and the nurse took photographs of his injuries. Kendall was asked to step outside for the photographs but Riley insisted that she be allowed to stay.

They were taken into a private conference room and the police were waiting for him to make a statement. Miss Morgan gently encouraged him to tell them everything and he did, but Riley still believed nothing would come of it.

Because of the swelling around his eye and the three broken ribs, the Doctor opted to keep him in the hospital overnight. He didn’t argue to leave because he knew it was unlikely that Aaron would show up there. Miss Morgan insisted on staying and they set her up with a more comfortable chair to sleep in. Riley was given a mild sedative to help him sleep once it was clear his concussion was minor. 

Kendall watched over him like he was her own son. Neither of them got much sleep.


	6. Chapter 6

The clanging of the IV stand next to his head caused him to wake up. He bolted upright and was preparing to defend himself when the woman next to him gasped loudly. Miss Morgan wasn’t sitting in the chair that was next to his bed and his anxiety level began to rise with the surge of adrenaline moving throughout his body.

"Sorry. It's just me," his nurse explained. She was a different one than he had the previous night. He didn’t care as long as it wasn’t Aaron waking him up like that.

"I need an IV?” He asked.

"Yes, but we inserted the line while you were asleep, so the hard part is over." She connected the tube with the one coming out from the back of his hand. 

"What's it for?" He inquired.

"It's a nutritional solution with some anti-inflammatory medication to help relive the swelling. I’ll also be putting in some pain medication. The doctor will be in soon to go over your discharge instructions. Do you know if your friend will be coming back?"

Riley shook his head. "I'm not sure. She probably went home to get some sleep."

“I doubt that. She was here until about a half hour ago and insisted on being here when you woke up, though I guess I ruined that. I bet she’ll be back soon, once she’s visited a restroom and downed a cup of coffee. The only thing you need to worry about right now is getting yourself all healed up."

His skin began to tingle as the IV solution began entering his vein and mixing with his blood, but the feeling rapidly subsided. He settled back into a comfortable position on the bed. He looked around the room and spotted a mirror on the wall above a sink and he grew curious.

"How do I look?"

The nurse walked to his side and started placing a blood pressure cuff on the arm without the IV. She avoided his eyes and Riley didn’t take that as a good sign. “You’ll heal. That’s what’s important.”

"My ribs hurt."

“That’s what the pain medication is for. The ribs will heal over the next couple of weeks. You’re lucky though. Your injuries could have been much more severe.”

He guessed that was something at least. He now had a positive line that he could tell his mother. Sure, he had the hell beat out of him, but he could tell her that it could have been worse as though that would somehow make it easier for her to take. 

"Your blood pressure is a little elevated but it’s nothing to be concerned about. Are you hungry?"

He shook his head and he had an image of her writing that down in his chart. He wanted to go home and he wasn’t about to give them any reason to keep him there. "Maybe just some toast."

She left the room after promising to return with something edible. He thought she had come back after only a few minutes when the door opened, but it was actually Kendall returning.

“Oh, I'm sorry. I wanted to be here when you woke up."

“It’s okay. The nurse woke me up with the IV and told me that you left for a while.”

She walked to the chair and took a seat, scooting it a little closer to his bed so that he didn’t have to twist his neck at an awkward angle to be able to see her. “Actually, I was talking to the police. They're looking for Aaron to question him, but he's not at the hotel he was staying at and his rental car was returned late last night."

"Good. I hope he's miles away and never coming back."

"I hope they drag him back here and toss him in jail. It's where he belongs."

Riley wasn't in a mood to disagree. "I have some broken ribs. Does that buy me a couple of days off of work?"

She patted him on the back of the hand in what could only be described as a maternal gesture with the purpose of giving him comfort. ”You can take off from work as long as you need. We can even work the schedule out if you want to go back home for a while and see your family."

"No, I don't want them to see me like this. I don't want anyone to have to see me like this."

"Too late," she said sadly.

"Yeah. I guess I should figure out how to explain this to everyone."

“I think the truth is the best answer."

"I'll give you a hundred dollars if you tell everyone I won a cruse around the world and I’ll be back in a few weeks."

Kendall smiled. "You don't have that kind of luck. Can I make a suggestion.”

“Sure. Why not?”

“Why don’t I ask them stop by and see you. It could be hours before you’re discharged.”

He sighed. Her words made sense to him, and he knew it was better to get it over with sooner rather than later. “Can you have Shelby come first?”

She shook her head slowly. He narrowed his eyes in an attempt to figure out why she was denying his request. 

“I already called Chase. He’ll be here in half an hour.”

“What? Why? What did you tell him?”

“Whatever it is that’s going on between you two right now, he’s your friend. He’d want to be here for you just like you’d want to be here if he was the one in the hospital. I left the message pretty vague and told the nurse that he’d be coming to see you.”

“Why does he think he’s coming here?” He wondered. It was in no way a rhetorical question.

“I told him that I was here taking care of some things and asked him to join me. I hope you don’t feel pressured into this. If you do, I can call him back and tell him that he doesn’t need to come.”

He wished he could hide forever, but he wanted to get his embarrassment over with as soon as possible. “It’s fine. Thank you.”

“Sure. Now, I need to go back to my place and take a shower. I’ll be back in an little over an hour.”

She hugged him, which was uncharacteristic for her. He waved at her as she was leaving and then he was left with the odd silence of the room he was in. There was a television mounted to the wall but he didn’t feel like watching it. He just sat there, waiting for the guy he had feelings for to arrive.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know that nothing really important happened in this chapter other than Kendall giving Riley his support. I just needed to explain why Chase was coming to the hospital and set the groundwork for Riley's embarrassment over the whole situation.
> 
> On a side note, I hope that Kendall gets the last line of the show once it comes to an end with the current cast. Her line: "It's okay. You guys can call me Kendall." 
> 
> What would you like the last line of the show to be and who would say it?


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's time for Chase to find out what happened.

The nurse returned with some unbuttered toast after almost twenty minutes; Riley scarfed it down in three bites because he was hungrier than he thought he was. She was impressed with his appetite and true to his suspicions, she wrote something down in his chart after witnessing his food intake. 

“Did I pass inspection?”

“You have an appetite and a sense of humor? I’m impressed.”

“I just don’t want to be here any longer than I have to be.”

The nurse jotted that down in his chart too before she looked up at him. “I doubt you’ll be here for much longer. Your doctor is running late because of rounds, but he’ll discharge you if nothing changes in your condition between now and then. You friend told us that you have a visitor coming.”

“Yeah, he’s one of my friends.” Riley wondered if that was actually the truth. “Miss Morgan wants me to tell him what happened. She probably thinks I’ll hide away in my apartment and isolate myself to keep from admitting what happened and avoid dealing with the embarrassment of it all.”

The nurse looked at him, cocked her head to the side, and raised an eyebrow. “Oh, really?”

“I may have done some of that in the past as unhealthy coping mechanisms. It’s complicated.”

“Just listen to your friend. It sounds like she’s got the right idea. I’ll bring your other friend back when he arrives.”

“Thank you”

She left with his chart, placing it in the holder at the nurse’s station.

He didn’t have to wait long. There was a knock at his door and it opened a minute later. “Go on in. He’s waiting for you, hon.”

“He?” Chase asked. “I don’t understand.”

“He’ll explain everything to you.”

The door opened all the way and Chase walked inside. He came to a stop when he saw the figure on the bed and his eyes met Riley’s an instant later. Recognition set in and only then was Chase able to take in the injuries that Riley had sustained. He took another couple of steps.

“I guess I won’t be winning any beauty contests anytime soon. I don’t have any idea how I look, but I’m sure it isn’t pretty. Come sit down.”

“What happened to you?”

Chase walked to the chair beside his bed and he sat down. The nurse flashed Riley a knowing look before she closed the door to give them some privacy. 

“Aaron was a great guy at first, but it didn’t take long for his anger to get the better of him. Our first fight was outside of our school and he shoved me into the brick wall and made my nose bleed. I told myself it was just an accident, that he cared about me and didn’t mean for it to happen. He apologized and I believed him. 

The second time, we were in the school library and we were arguing because I was talking to a lab partner and Aaron thought we were flirting with each other. He called me names and told me I was stupid, then he punched me. I had a black eye and I told everyone that a bully had done it.”

Chase understood. All the clues seemed to align and the things that Riley had been hiding made sense. “Riley, I’m so sorry.”

“It happened a lot while we were together. I kept forgiving him and made excuses. I took the blame onto myself and thought I was asking for it, or somehow making it happen. When I finally had the courage to talk to my family and get help, they talked me into going to the police. Aaron’s father is the Sheriff back home so you can imagine it didn’t go over that well.”

“So, what happened?”

“My mom had enough. She told Aaron and his father that if I showed up with one more scratch, she’d call the newspaper and start calling the other parents at school. She promised that she would make noise until people started to listen. The guy couldn’t jeopardize his job, so he sent Aaron to live with his mom in Los Angeles.”

Chase sighed as Riley’s actions began replaying in his mind’s eye. “That’s why you didn’t want anything to do with him when he came back. It’s why you were acting weird when you told me about the invite to the birthday party?”

Riley rested his head on the pillow. “I was embarrassed. I didn’t want you guys to find out my secrets and think I’m weak.”

“Mate, you’re not weak. You didn’t ask for this to happen to you and you certainly didn’t deserve it.”

“I know. I was leaving from work last night and he was waiting for me in the parking lot. I told him to leave me alone, that things were finished between us and that he should leave. He didn’t take it well.”

Chase couldn’t stop staring at the bruising around his eye. His lip had scabbed up where it was split and it hurt, but Riley thought it probably looked even worse. Chase blinked a couple of times and broke eye contact. “Are you hurt badly?”

Riley shook his head. “Not really - I have some broken ribs and a lot of cuts and bruises.”

Chase sighed. His finger reached for Riley’s shirt and hooked at the neckline. He pulled it down carefully to reveal the dark bruises. His level of confusion seemed to increase. “Why didn’t you or Kendall call me last night?”

“I asked her not to. I didn’t want to interrupt your date with Rachel. Besides, you and Kendall are the only two that know about this, aside from the police, the x-ray technician, four nurses, and a couple of doctors.”

“You should have called me. I would have come.”

“You’re here now.”

“When can you leave?”

“Why? Are you that desperate for a mini golf rematch?”

Chase smiled. “You better believe it, baby raptor.”

“They’re letting me out soon. Probably in a few hours.”

“How are you going to tell the others?”

“Just like I’m telling you. Bad idea?”

“No, I think that’s a good strategy.” 

“Great. Miss Morgan is giving me time off of work to heal up. I guess I can use that time to find out why my energem is messed up.”

“It’s not helping you heal?”

Riley shook his head. “Not even a little bit. It’s all murky and weird.”

He pulled it out from inside his shirt and showed it to Chase. “Maybe Keeper will know what to do to fix it?” Chase asked.

Riley hoped that was the case. He couldn’t imagine not being a Power Ranger now that he had become one, and the thought of it ending so quickly made him feel even that much more powerless. He returned the energem inside his shirt.

“We don’t have to worry about that stuff now though,” Riley said. “Uh, would you mind being there when I tell the others? I mean, it’s cool if you’re busy or have plans, but I think it would help me.”

“Of course, bro. Do you need me to do anything else?”

“No, but thanks. I’m just going to go home and take it easy for a week or so.”

An awkward silence crept up on them. Neither knew the next topic they should discuss and both of them were afraid to bring up a touchy subject that the other didn’t want to talk about. Riley took a couple of deep breaths. His pain had almost completely subsided thanks to the IV pain medication and he was getting a little drowsy.

“I wasn’t on a date last night. I canceled it,” Chase revealed.

That woke him up. “Y-you did?”

“It just didn’t feel right with her,” Chase admitted.

“I’m sorry, hotshot. Don’t worry about it though. There are plenty of girls out there and you’ll find the right one.”

Another knock at the door drew both of their attention away from their conversation. Riley was relieved when the doctor entered. He was followed by the same doctor that he saw the previous night, along with his nurse and a med student.

“Hello, Riley. Sorry to interrupt, but I need to examine you before I can get started on your discharge paperwork.”

“Sure.”

“Go ahead,” the new doctor said. 

Riley’s physician from the previous night began to skim the index card in his hands. “Eighteen year old male presented with multiple lacerations, abrasions, and contusions after a physical assault. He suffered swelling of the eye socket with no damage to the retina, as well as three fractured ribs. His most severe lacerations were sutured and the rest were treated topically with ointment. He’s been receiving IV pain management along with NSAIDs to abate the swelling. Appetite is present and he shows no signs of head injury other than a mild concussion. No loss of consciousness or altered state currently, but he did have some short-term memory loss last night before he was examined.”

The new physician approached Riley and shone a light into both of his eyes. He applied some pressure on his injured eye socked and Riley winced from the pain, but the medicine helped the pain subside quickly. “Riley, have you noticed any vision changes in your injured eye?”

“No, nothing. Why?”

“It’s just a routine question. Sometimes a socket injury can cause pressure to be applied to the optic nerve which can temporarily cause blindness. Pupil response is normal, but I wanted to check.”

“Oh, okay,” Riley said. He appreciated them being thorough to avoid any future complications.

“I’m going to give you a week’s worth of pain medication, but it’s my hope that you won’t need it for that long. You can always try ibuprofen which is available over the counter. Do you have anyone that can stay with you over the next couple of days?”

“No. Do I need that?”

“Well, it isn’t serious enough for me to deny your discharge, but I recommend it with even minor concussions.”

“I’ll call him and check on him at his apartment,” Chase offered.

The doctor nodded and scribbled a note in the patient chart to explain what was just said and that Riley’s condition was considered stable. “That should do nicely. A few times a day should be fine. Riley, do you have any questions for me?”

“My ribs - how long will it take for them to heal?”

“The standard is about six weeks, but you’ll be able to move around well before that. I advise against walking too strenuously or heavy lifting the first two weeks, and marathons are out of the question. Sometimes the bones can heal out of alignment and if that happens you’ll need to come back in so that we can fix them so that they heal properly.”

“I’ll keep an eye on them,” Riley promised.

“Great. I’ll get the paperwork started and your nurse will be by in about half an hour to go over any aftercare instructions.”

“Thank you,” Chase said, beating Riley to it.

The physicians left the room and Riley smiled. “I was afraid they were going to try to keep me longer. I don’t like hospitals.”

Chase laughed. “Neither do I, mate. I don’t mind this room though. The company is good.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chase's reaction was pretty mild. I thought it would be appropriate because he was afraid of upsetting or scaring Riley. Don't be fooled though, Chase is furious with Aaron. It's just that Chase cares more about being there for Riley than becoming an avenging angel at the moment.
> 
> Also, sorry for the medical jargon towards the end of the chapter. I've been binge watching ER (my favorite tv show of all time!) and I thought it made sense to have some of that in there. It was superfluous to the nth degree.


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's time for a little platonic Chiley bonding.

The following day, Riley was in the base. He had been instructed to take it easy but he was already going stir crazy at his apartment with nothing to do. Even if he couldn’t work and he couldn’t fight monsters, just being in the lab made him feel like everything was back to normal. 

The others took the news of what happened to Riley pretty well. Coda and Shelby were the only two to hug him, and the general consensus was that Aaron should avoid showing his face around Amber Beach for a while unless he wanted to deal with an angry mob comprised of Riley’s friends. He knew he would have to tell his mom and brother what happened but he decided to wait to call them in the evening when they would be more relaxed.

Once Shelby promised to be his new bodyguard, Riley decided to focus on other matters. It wasn't likely that he would ever forget what Aaron had done to him. In fact, he still thought he saw him out of the corner of his eye every now and then. He wanted to protect himself and for that he needed the power of the green energem.

Keeper held Riley’s energem in the palm of his hand. It was still cloudy and dark, almost fully opaque, and not glowing as it should have been.

“This is unfortunate,” Keeper began. “The bond forged between you and the energem has been damaged.”

Riley stood up quickly and winced from the pain caused by his unhealed ribs. Once he recovered, he walked closer to Keeper. “Is it permanent?”

Keeper waved his staff over it. To his dismay, nothing happened. “Curious. The bond is damaged and yet it still remains. Perhaps it isn’t the energem itself that is the problem.”

Riley ignored the urge to scream. Sometimes he wished that Keeper would go out of his way to be less cryptic. “Could it be my physical condition?”

Keeper waved his hand in a circular motion and the energem glided through the air to rest in the charging station. It’s presence there didn’t activate the charging process as it did when the crystal was healthy.

“I’m not certain. Do you still wish to be a Power Ranger, Riley?”

“Of course. I consider it an honor, Keeper.”

“Then you must look within to discover what it is that is damaging your bond with the green energem.”

“I don’t even know where to begin…”

“Have you thought about asking it for advice?”

Riley stared at Keeper. It seemed as strange an idea as any, but the longer he sat with it, the more it seemed to make sense. “Why didn’t I think of that?”

Keeper smiled with his eyes before leaving the room. Riley didn’t know where he went most of the time, but he appreciated having him around for situations the team didn’t understand. He turned and looked at the energem, holding his hand out. The energem stayed put which elicited a frown from Riley.

Chase and Kendall walked in and Riley held a hand up to stop them. Riley could practically feel the smile on Chase's face and his friend's level of playfulness. “Don’t even say it, Chase.”

“Say what?” Kendall asked. She looked at the both of them and waited for an answer.

Riley sighed. He motioned for Chase to go ahead and the black ranger's glee seemed to burst out from his solar plexus as he began. “Turn that frown upside down, baby raptor.”

Kendall was unable to hold back her own smile. “I see. Is there anything I can do to help?”

Riley wished that were possible, but he knew it was up to him and him alone. “Thanks, but I think I have to figure out the energem situation myself. Keeper gave me some suggestions and I should try them out.”

“Good. You should also think about getting some rest so that your injuries can heal. Are you getting enough vitamins in your diet?”

Chase put his arm around Riley and led him away. “Don’t worry, Kendall. I’ll make sure he eats something healthy.”

Riley broke free to grab his energem, which he attached to the cord around his neck. He caught up with Chase, who was waiting for him, after waving goodbye to Kendall. “It’s _Miss Morgan_ ,” she corrected, though no one was listening.

The two of them walked on the sidewalk at a slower pace than they usually did for Riley’s benefit. His broken ribs made it more difficult for him to take in deeper breaths, so a low level of activity was useful in order to keep him from hyperventilating and causing a scene.

“I was serious about getting you to eat something healthy. Do you want to stop and eat or do you want me to drop you off at your place and bring something back?”

Riley appreciated the attention. He didn’t think he deserved an iota of it, but it still made him feel good. “Chase, you don’t have to do that. I’m sure there are things you’d much rather be doing with your time. Don’t you have to go to work?”

Chase shook his head. “I decided that you’d be bored out of your skull if you spent all your time alone. I took a couple of vacation days.”

“Wow. Kendall actually gave you time off?”

Chase seemed hesitant to answer Riley’s question, but he was aware it was more awkward to not say anything. He shoved his hands into the pockets of his jeans. “I didn’t really give her a choice.”

“Thank you. Let’s stop and eat on the way. You get to pick where as long as I get to pick up the tab. It’s the least I can do.”

“Fair enough. Thanks, mate.”

Riley had to force himself to look away. He could have spent days just looking at Chase. “So, what are you in the mood for?”

Chase tapped his chin with his index finger. “We could try that vegetarian restaurant that opened up a few blocks from the apartment building. Shelby went there last week and said it was pretty good.”

Riley was surprised by the suggestion. He knew that Chase was a fairly healthy eater, but he never pictured the guy actually going to a vegetarian restaurant. “That’ll work. We can catch the tram up the street. We should be able to make it on time even though I’m going pretty slow.”

“Don’t rush yourself. It’s important that you let your body heal properly.”

He wanted to make himself better instantly. He was still holding out hope that he could fix his bond with the energem and that it would somehow heal his injuries overnight. Riley was aware that it was wishful thinking, but he knew the clock was ticking. The bad guys could attack at any minute and while his friends were more than capable, he didn’t want to put them in greater danger by having to sit on the sidelines.

Even though they were in public, Riley still felt a little self-conscious by the looks that strangers gave him. Half of them probably thought he got into a fight, the other half a car accident. It was unlikely that any of them would look at him and the words “domestic violence” would come to mind, but that didn’t stop Riley from irrationally thinking that was the case. He felt comfortable having someone with him if only to prevent people from making comments and asking questions. 

“I’ll try to take it easy. I know it’s going to take time to get back to normal. I’m just a little concerned about you guys. I mean, what happens if a monster attacks and someone gets hurt because I wasn’t around to pull my weight?”

Chase scoffed at the idea. “Even if something like that were to happen, Riley, it wouldn’t be your fault. We’ve all come close a couple of times but we’ve been lucky. We just have to keep believing in our reasons for being Power Rangers.”

“Isn’t that a little naive? We’re talking about serious injuries and potential death. We’re just blowing it off saying that it’s part of the risk?”

“Isn’t it? I don’t know any other way to put it.”

Riley stopped walking. He looked into Chase’s eyes and it sank in. Accepting that they could be hurt or injured themselves was certainly a part of it, but Riley had never really given it a second thought that Chase could be hurt or killed. The idea of losing him, even as a friend, was almost unbearable.

“Hey. What’s wrong?” Chase questioned. He was able to see Riley’s mood shift by the way his eyebrows raised and lowered. In fact, his entire body language read like he was now closed off.

“You could die.”

Chase shrugged. “You could too, Riley. We just accept it because we’re protecting people. We risk our own lives willingly because we’re able to stand up and resist the monsters and their attacks in order to protect people.”

Riley scratched the back of his neck. “I don’t know if I can do this…”

“What? Have lunch?”

“I can’t watch you die. I don’t think I’d survive it.”

Chase grabbed him by the shoulders. “Mate, there’s risk in everything. We could get hit by a car walking on this very sidewalk. The tram we’re making our way to could have an electrical malfunction and explode…”

“You’ve been watching too many American movies, Chase.”

“There are no guarantees about anything, Riley. The fact that we’re a team means that we look out for each other. Even if something were to happen, it wouldn’t be anyone’s fault. Well, except for the person causing trouble.”

Riley took a moment to exhale a deep breath. “I know that’s the rational way of looking at it. You’re right. I just don’t want to lose you.”

Chase pulled him into a hug. Riley was uncomfortable for a moment, but he quickly settled in and allowed himself to receive his friend’s affection without projecting his feelings onto him. “I don’t want to lose you either, Riley. Do you believe me?”

“Of course. I have no reason to doubt you.”

“Good. Now let’s hurry up and catch that tram so I fatten you up with fruits and vegetables.”

Riley smiled at the mental image that gave him. He resumed walking with Chase, both of them feeling a little less awkward around each other.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter let me lay the groundwork for Riley getting his powers back, but it won't necessarily happen as soon as you think. Did you like the Chiley bonding?


	9. Chapter 9

"You know what this place is missing? Themed menu items," Riley joked.

"Such as?"

“Green Ranger Apple Pie."

"I like it. Maybe you should have a word with the manager?”

“Maybe I will,” he said, with no intention of doing so.

Chase cleared his throat which told Riley that something awkward was about to be asked of him. “Have you heard anything from the police?"

Riley's chest tightened, like someone was squeezing him a little too tightly. He could still breathe even though his lung capacity was diminished from the attack, and he knew it wasn’t physical so much as his anxiety getting stirred up at the mere mention of the incident. “Yeah,” he spit out. “They’re still looking for Aaron. They think he stayed in the area." 

"Does that scare you?"

Riley nodded. "I keep expecting to turn my head and see him watching me from across the room."

"Why would he stay and risk getting caught?"

Riley knew that was a question any reasonable person would ask. The problem was that Aaron was more fanatical and clingy than he was reasonable. The guy had a well established pattern of getting angry and hurting Riley before tracking him down and begging his forgiveness. Riley was just waiting for Aaron to follow through with his pattern. 

“I think there’s a part of him that likes hitting me. To be honest, I'm hoping he’ll break his cycle and that he won’t show up. I'd be fine to never see or hear from him again."

That surprised Chase. "You mean you don't want him to get caught and go to jail?”

“I know he deserves it, I do, but it isn’t exactly the best place for him to get help. He needs counseling and anger management.”

“He could have killed you, Riley. Prison is exactly where he belongs. He’ll get help there, and he’ll probably be required to go to counseling once he gets released.”

Riley was thankful that the decision wasn’t left up to either one of them. “I guess that’s what’s great about our court system. A jury gets to decide.”

Chase could see that his questions had unnerved Riley, and he wished that he had been cognizant enough to realize what those kinds of questions would do to his friend. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have brought it up. Let’s talk about something else.”

“Sure. Like what?”

The waitress appeared before Chase could respond. She got one look at the guy sitting across from Riley and her sense of composure seemed to melt away. “H-Hi. I’m…um, Katie. I’ll be your waitress. What do you want? I mean, what can I get you?”

She started blushing and it became a few shades darker when Chase smiled at her. “I’ll have the tabbouleh salad with a side of hummus and pita. Just water to drink, thanks.”

Katie scribbled his order down on a notepad and then turned to Riley. He became self conscious when she started to stare at his injuries. “What happened to you?”

Riley was feeling a little cheeky, so he went with the first thing that popped in his head. “We tried to go to Applebees and there was a brawl among the waitresses. The winner got to sit next to my friend here,” he answered. Chase started laughing from the absurdity of what he said, but he stopped when he looked at the waitress.

They could both see the wheels turning in the girl’s head as she weighed whether or not it was a possibility. Riley knew it was made more believable only because Chase was actually that attractive, otherwise she would have just laughed in his face. 

“He’s kidding,” Chase finally announced, taking pity on her.

“I am,” Riley admitted. “Just give me the same thing he’s getting.”

She put her pen and notepad in her apron, a look of confusion still clearly visible on her face. “Um, okay. I’ll be back in a minute with your water.”

Chase shook his head disapprovingly at Riley. The green ranger just shrugged. “That was probably the concussion talking.”

Chase collected the menus and placed them back in the holder on the side of the table. “I can’t believe you said that. That exact sort of thing happened all the time back home. I even had to stop going out to eat for a while,” he joked.

“It must be so hard being you.”

“No way. It’s a gift. You should consider yourself blessed for sitting at my table.”

Riley did feel blessed. He also felt lucky to be alive. “Just don’t let it all go to your head. You won’t get any dates if it gets any bigger.”

“I’ll keep that in mind. Um, can I ask you something personal?”

Riley took in a deep breath. His first instinct was to keep his wall up and hide away from revealing anything about himself. Even though his secrets were now known to his friend, he couldn’t help but feel like he still had to protect himself. “Of course. I’ll tell you anything you want to know.”

“Do you have a crush on anyone else on the team?”

Riley stared ahead at him. “I did when I first met Tyler, but that kind of fizzled out when I saw how perfect he and Shelby are for each other. I think all of you are great guys and you each have qualities that I admire.”

“Like what? What qualities do you admire about me?”

“Well, you’re cocky, but you aren’t conceited. You act like you may not care about things but you do deep down, and you’re actually a really kind and compassionate guy. You’re always willing to apologize if you’ve done something wrong. Stop looking at me like that!”

Chase appeared awestruck, like he was hearing Riley’s words describing him for the first time. “That’s the nicest stuff anyone’s ever said about me, baby raptor. Thanks.”

“Can I ask you a question?”

“Sure. What do you want to know?”

“What is tabbouleh?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Now I kinda want apple pie...
> 
> ...and tabbouleh. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tabbouleh)


	10. Chapter 10

Their meal was better than either of them expected, but the company was the best part about it. Even thought it wasn’t a date, Riley finally began to understand what it was that all of the girls crushing on Chase went through and he couldn't understand why they didn't keep coming back for more. In his mind, Chase was almost like a drug. They were preparing to walk towards Riley’s apartment when Chase’s Dino Com started signaling that someone was calling. He pulled it out of a pocket and was met with Kendall’s face when he activated it.

“Chase, I’m glad I reached you. There are vivix in the park by the museum causing trouble and Shelby, Ivan, and Koda are already there dealing with a monster. They need your help.”

“Of course. I’ll meet you there.”

He put the Dino Com away and turned to face Riley. “I’m sorry. I have to go.”

“Go. I’ll get home okay. And, you know, be careful.”

He watched Chase run off to a more secluded area to morph. Since he vanished out of sight, Riley turned his attention to walking back to his place. He was feeling more fatigued than he thought he would be and he still had some re-bonding to do with his energem, but he couldn’t help but feel like he was somehow failing his friends by not being there to help them out.

Riley took the bus to save himself a long walk, and he made it to his apartment after only twenty minutes. He checked the hallway outside of his door and made sure it was clear before he entered. Riley placed the key in the lock and turned it, pushing the door open so that he could get a look inside before he stepped in.

He stood still and waited, wondering if Aaron was inside. After a couple of seconds of nothing happening, he walked inside and closed the door behind him, locking the deadbolt along with the chain. When he turned around, he felt his level of fear go higher than it had in a long time.

Aaron was standing in the entryway to his bedroom. Riley was unable to escape and he began worrying that he wasn’t going to make it out alive. “What are you doing here?”

Aaron knew enough to stay still and not move towards him. Just as Riley had predicted, he was in the second stage of his violence cycle. The first was to abuse and blame it all on Riley; the second was to apologize profusely and shower Riley with gifts in an effort to gain his forgiveness. Riley knew it was no longer that simple and he found himself wondering if Aaron was deluded enough to not realize that. 

“I had to see you, baby. Where have you been?”

“I was out with my friends. They’ll be here any minute.”

Aaron ignored his warning. “I love you so much, Riley. I’m so sorry. I-I promise you that I’ll get help. I’m sick, but I know that you don’t deserve to be treated like that.”

“It’s too late, Aaron. I’m not going to forgive you and I’m not going to be with you again no matter what you say or do. You should turn yourself in and get the help that you need.”

Aaron’s attitude shifted. His calm demeanor was replaced with a more jittery, energetic version. This new version was also clearly paranoid as he began looking around the room. He moved towards Riley, no longer caring about his comfort or sense of safety, and made sure the locks were secure and that he could’t leave. “Why did you go to the police?! You know it won’t help.”

“If you really thought that then you wouldn’t be acting like this. If you turn yourself in then I’ll ask the judge to be lenient as long as you get counseling. It’ll be okay…”

“Shut up!” Aaron screamed. He turned on Riley and pushed him up against the door, both hands holding his shoulders against the dark wood. “I’m so tired of you thinking you’re smarter than me. I’m fine; there’s nothing wrong with me!”

“You know that isn’t true,” Riley replied. He was confused when Aaron’s head came to rest on his shoulder and he started to cry. After a moment, he composed himself and wiped away his tears. He kissed Riley on the lips and then put his hands on Riley’s waist as he began kissing his cheek. 

“I’m sorry. You’re right, baby. I need you so bad right now.”

Riley’s brain began trying to work this new type of puzzle. He needed to figure out the strategy that would get him to safety without being maimed or hurt any worse. This wasn’t typical to the way that Aaron had reacted all those other times, and he wondered if it had to do with his father not being able to protect him from the police in Angel Beach. His hands pushed Aaron’s away when they moved too close to his zipper. “No, it’s not happening.”

“Screw you then, you bastard. If I can’t have you then I’ll make sure no one wants you. Maybe then you’ll change your mind about us.”

Aaron pulled a knife out of his pocket, a switchblade, and the click of the blade swinging into position pushed Riley into action. He pushed Aaron away as hard as he could, working through the pain that it caused, and he quickly undid the locks and opened the door. He ran out as fast as he could manage and didn’t stop until he saw Chase on the sidewalk. 

The black ranger looked happy to see him, but his expression melted away when he saw the fear in Riey’s eyes. They ran towards each other, meeting up near a red car in the parking lot. Riley wrapped his arms around Chase, not caring how it looked or how his friend would feel about it, because he needed in that moment to feel safe and cared for. 

“What happened, baby raptor? Are you okay?”

“He-he’s in my apartment. He has a knife…”

“Wait here,” Chase said, making a move towards the building. Riley grabbed his wrist and stopped him.

“No! He could hurt you, Chase. Let’s go to the museum where it’s safe.”

Chase moved closer to Riley. “It’s okay. I’ll morph and check it out.”

Riley refused to let go. “He’s already gone, Chase. He’s not one of those dumb criminals that makes mistakes and gets himself caught. He’s the kind of guy that takes out as many people as he can before he goes kicking and screaming. He could have more than a knife. Please…”

Chase looked into his eyes and he found that he couldn’t refuse Riley’s request. “Okay. Let’s go to the museum and we’ll call the police.”

“Good idea.”

Riley’s breathing was uneven as they started to walk. He kept checking over his shoulder as they moved and Chase opted to flag down a cab that was going by to give Riley some peace of mind. They weren’t that far from the museum but Riley insisted on paying the eight dollar fare himself. 

They entered the base and the look on their faces ended the conversations happening among the others. All of them were there debriefing over the monster attack and Riley felt like an idiot for disrupting their lives, but he also knew it wasn’t all his fault.

“Guys, what’s wrong?” Tyler asked entreatingly.

“I got back to Riley’s place and found him running for his life. Aaron was in his apartment when he got back.”

“Oh, my god,” Kendall said. “Are you hurt?”

“No. I pushed him away and made a run for it. He had a knife this time.”

“That’s it,” Shelby said. “We need to hunt this guy down.”

“That’s the job of the police,” Kendall softly reminded them.

Shelby turned to her. “They don’t seem to be taking their job that seriously at the moment. Aaron is dangerous and he could hurt people, just like the vivix or any number of the monsters we’ve faced, including the one we fought not even an hour ago! We have to do something!”

“We will. We’ll put up fliers with Aaron’s picture and warn people to call the police if they see him. It isn’t in our purview to rid the world of human criminals, no matter how much I wish that weren’t the case,” Kendall clarified.

Tyler put his arm around Shelby and it seemed to help her calm down. “It’s okay. The police are going to catch this guy and Riley is with us and he’s safe.”

Koda walked to Riley and hugged him. Some of his anxiety fell away instantly when he began to realize that he was back among friends and in one of the few locations that Aaron wouldn’t be able to find him. “Thanks, Koda.”

“You… stay here?”

Chase shook his head. “No, he’s staying with me in my apartment. Aaron won’t be able to find Riley there.”

The other rangers seemed to approve and Koda let Riley go. He walked over to Shelby and hugged her next which caused her to immediately smile. 

“I suggest we contact the police and let them know what happened. Then we should get started on the posters.”

Shelby sighed once Koda released her. “I still say we bring the hurt to his guy, but I’ll go along with you guys and Miss Morgan’s plan. But Riley, if anything happens to you, I promise…”

“That won’t be necessary, Shelby, but I think we all feel the same way.”

Shelby turned to Kendall. “Do we?” She turned and left the room. Tyler went after her.

“She’s not mad at you, Miss Morgan. You know how protective she is of the people she cares about.”

Kendall nodded, somehow understanding Shelby’s position while not backing down from her own. “Let’s go upstairs to one of the research rooms. We’ll wait there for the police.”

Riley followed her, leaving the rest of the team in the base. The museum was packed because of a new exhibit and he was on guard, knowing that Aaron could easily blend in among the crowd. He felt a calm wash over him once they entered the research room, vials of various chemicals on one shelf and a large work table in the center of the room. It was used for carbon-dating found items and geological analysis. Riley felt at home there.

Kendall walked to the phone on the wall and called the authorities.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> -Spoiler Alert-
> 
> For those of you wanting a great reaction from Shelby, don't fear. There is a lot more of this coming up in the next couple chapters. Which interaction do you most want next?
> 
> Riley/Tyler  
> Riley/Ivan  
> Riley/Chase (as if anything else would be acceptable)
> 
> PS: Riley still hasn't told his mother and brother what happened! Someone's not going to be happy about that...


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please forgive my bad grammar. I have a tendency to overuse commas while simultaneously putting them in the wrong place. I make up sentence breaks based on where I pause when I talk. I'm like the new William Shatner, but with a better personality. 
> 
> :)

Riley's feet were aching by the time they hung their two hundred and fiftieth flier. They had covered most of Angel Beach by splitting up into two groups - Shelby, Tyler, and Chase went with Riley to the southern part of the city, while Ivan, Koda, and Kendall covered the northern side. 

"He won't be able to hide for much longer," Shelby reassured him.

"I hope so. I think he might actually be deranged at this point. He would have really hurt me if I didn't escape, all so I would want him and no one else."

They stopped at a bench on the side of the road. It appeared to be left there as an abandoned bus stop, and dried, peeling graffiti in neon colors was starting to come off in sections, but it was functional enough and receiving the perfect amount of shade. Shelby shot Tyler a coded look and he suggested that he and Chase go into the pharmacy across the street to hang up the last flier they had.

She was quiet until they were out of hearing range. When the coast was clear, she turned her whole body toward Riley. "I'm so sorry you're having to deal with this. You don't deserve to be hurt by anyone."

"I know. I mean, I knew that before I moved here, but I think it’s finally sunk in. What's happening isn't my fault and I don't have to feel guilty about it."

She hugged him. "It's probably best that I don't see him around. I'm likely to castrate him if I do, and let me just say that I know how to bring the hurt if it's necessary."

Riley admired her strength. "I want to never have to see him again. I don't think causing him pain will make me feel better, and I suspect it would be the same for you, but I appreciate the sentiment.”

She shrugged. "Maybe. I can't help it though. I protect the people I care about."

He caught her watching Tyler and Chase across the street. They had been led outside by a staff member and were in the process of hanging up the flier on the door. He wasn’t going to bring it up considering his own aversion to spilling personal secrets, but he couldn’t resist. ”So, what's going on with you and Tyler?"

"Um, nothing. I mean, we like each other, but we're both kind of hesitant because we don't want to mess with the team dynamic."

Riley was able to read between the lines. ”I think you two are great together. I better get invited to the wedding."

Shelby smiled. "Sure, as long as I get invited to yours."

He met her eyes. It was legal now, though there was still the fear that some idiot politician making a name for himself could change all that, but that wasn't even the issue. Something in her eyes told him it wasn’t just a generic statement. ”Wait, to Chase? That's not happening. He's made it pretty clear that he's straight."

Shelby nudged his shoulder with her own. "Are you sure? He's kind of filling the role of the protective boyfriend. And the way that he looks at you sometimes..."

Riley was stunned. He just thought that Chase was being a good friend. "Are you sure?"

"Well, no, not one hundred percent. Look, did you see that?"

Riley had. He noticed that Chase turned back and smiled at them before resuming his task of holding the tape. "He looked over here. So?"

"He looked over here to check on you and he smiled. At you. He cares about you, Riley."

"He cares about all of us," Riley reminded her.

Shelby stood up and stretched her arms. "Okay, but he wasn't smiling at me for no reason."

Riley thought Shelby was blowing the whole thing out of proportion. They met up with the whole group and Riley thanked everyone for their help. A too long group hug was the result. Once they started heading off to do their own thing, Chase escorted Riley back to his apartment. A police officer was waiting for them so that Riley could grab some clothes and anything else he needed while he was staying at Chase's apartment.

Once he was packed, the officer drove them to ensure that they arrived safely. The two of them entered Chase's apartment. Riley had been there before but he had never stayed longer than a few minutes. It was cleaner than Riley remembered it, and some newer furniture replaced the older sofa and coffee table.

"You can take the bed. I changed all of the sheets and the blanket after I woke up this morning."

"I can't take your bed from you. Your couch will be fine."

"No worries, bro. I want you to take the bed because you'll be more comfortable. You're still healing, remember?"

Riley surrendered. "Thanks. You really don't have to..."

"Stop thanking me, mate. Do you want to take a bath?"

"Um...sure."

"Wait here," Chase said, before disappearing down the hallway. He could hear the sound of water running a minute later and Chase popped his head out to call him. Riley knew where the bathroom was and he walked in. Chase had a stack of clean towels sitting next to the sink. The oversized tub was filling with water.

"Bubbles or no bubbles?"

"Bubbles. Always go for bubbles."

Chase chucked. "I like how you think, bro. Make yourself at home and get comfy."

Riley watched him leave, closing the door behind him. He supposed it would be too awkward for him to ask Chase to join him, and alienating his friend was the last thing he wanted to do. Deep down he knew that Shelby was wrong, that she was reading too much into things, that Chase was just a nice guy helping out a friend. He was positive that Chase didn't have any feelings for him and he hoped he could get over his feelings for Chase to avoid making their temporary cohabitation situation awkward.

He disrobed and got into the water which was at an almost perfect temperature. It felt good even though it stung at his cuts. He brought some of the water to his face and felt refreshed after sitting there for only a few minutes. The bubbles were definitely a plus, and they were scented with something that made him feel more relaxed. Riley found himself wondering if this was one of Chase's seduction techniques reserved for the girls he dated, for those that made it back to his apartment. 

That thought made him laugh because he couldn’t picture Chase being so calculating.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The bubbles may be a little hokey but Riley seemed the type to want them, especially when trying to relax. Plus, things aren't getting cleaned unless I see bubbles, so this just means Riley is looking spiffy by the time his bath is over.


	12. Chapter 12

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, I admit it, the first part of the story is merely to get Chase and Riley sleeping next to each other in the same bed. The good stuff comes after the thin black line. 
> 
> Note: If you're ever assaulted by your crazy ex-boyfriend, it might not be the best idea to forget to tell your mother and protective older brother.

His head hit the pillow and he fell asleep almost instantly. He woke up an hour later to Chase standing over him and gently shaking him, the bedroom light already on. "Mate, you’re just having a bad dream. You’re safe."

Riley was breathing pretty heavily and it took him a couple of minutes to compose himself. "I'm so sorry," he said to Chase, once he was finally able to vocalize words.

"No worries. Do you want...I mean, I can stay here for a while if you want."

Riley nodded. The bed was big enough for both of them and Chase climbed in next to him, getting himself under the covers as quickly as possible. He reached up with his hand and turned off the light via the switch on the wall. There was just enough remaining illumination from the streetlight outside to see around the room. 

"Do you want to talk about your dream?"

Riley looked into his eyes. He didn't want to but he felt like he needed to. "Aaron had you hostage and he...he killed you."

Chase rubbed his shoulder. "It was just a dream. I’m far too annoying to leave you like that."

"Promise?"

"I promise."

They both settled into comfortable positions. "Thanks for staying with me."

"You're the one doing me a favor. Sleeping on those couch cushions wasn't as comfortable as I thought it would be."

"The bed is big enough for both of us. I don't mind as long as you don't try to take advantage of me,” Riley said.

"I'm not making any promises. I might try to cuddle you in my sleep for all I know."

"Oh, cuddling is fine. Just don't try to have your way with me before our wedding night. I have my purity to think about," Riley joked.

Chase leaned over and kissed Riley on the cheek. It was more intimate than they had ever been but Riley was sure it was just a gesture from a friend with no romantic undertones. "Purity is overrated. Goodnight, baby raptor."

"Goodnight, hotshot.” 

* * *

Riley was awoken suddenly by the sound of Chase speaking. Each time he said a few words and then he was cut off mid sentence. Riley sat up in the bed and was surprised when Chase entered the room and handed him his own cell phone. 

“I’m so sorry. I saw it was your mum and I answered. I didn’t know you hadn’t told her and I brought up that the police were still looking for Aaron. She insisted on speaking to you.”

Riley took a calming breath and took the phone. “It’s fine. This isn’t your fault, Chase. I should have told her what happened a couple of days ago but I kept putting it off.”

Chase flashed him a weak smile before backing out of the room and closing the door to give him privacy. Riley put the phone to his ear.

“Hi Mom. I can explain…”

“Matt’s coming up to bring you home. It’s not safe for you there.”

“Mom, that isn’t necessary. I’m staying with Chase and all my friends know what happened. They helped me put up fliers yesterday and now the whole town is looking out for Aaron. Matt doesn’t need to come.”

“He’s your brother and he’s going to be worried about you when I tell him about this. I don’t think I’ll be able to stop him.”

“Try. The police are involved and the most severe injury I have are a few broken ribs which are already starting to heal.”

“Broken ribs? Riley, why didn’t you call me sooner? I’m your mother…”

“I didn’t want to worry you. I think I was also kind of afraid of how to tell you that he was back. I mean, we all thought that he was out of our lives.”

“Yes, we did, but it seems evident that we were all wrong about that little fact. Son, I love you so much and I just need to know that you’re safe. Please think about coming home, even just for a little visit while the police track down Aaron.”

“I’ll think about it,” he promised. “But really, between Chase and Shelby, it’s like I have my own personal security team. All my friends have been great.”

“Are you and this guy dating?”

Riley rolled his eyes. First Shelby and now his mother - he didn’t know who to expect to bring it up next. “No, we aren’t dating.”

“Well, if you are, make sure to use protection.”

“Mom! I just said that we aren’t dating. We don’t need to have a talk about safe sex right now, or, you know, ever again.”

“I’m not sorry,” she admitted. “It’s my job to be concerned.”

“I know. I love you. I am so sorry I didn’t call you sooner.”

“You better be. Your friend just said that the police were looking for Aaron after what he did to you. I want the whole story.”

“All of it?”

“Yes, of course,” she said, as if anything to the contrary was a bad choice.

“You’d better get some tea.”

“I don’t need any tea. Tell me what happened, Riley, or I’ll send your brother down there with enough rope to hog tie you and keep you still in his truck while he brings you home.”

“Oh, that’s just great. Most people wouldn’t make references to kidnapping and bondage with a person that’s just been the victim of domestic violence, but I’m glad to know you aren’t deterred from speaking your mind. I can tell that those nonexistent sensitivity seminars have really been paying off.”

“Very funny, kid. I’m waiting…”

Riley started at the beginning. He told her everything, from when Aaron first showed up at the Dino Bite Cafe to when he ran to Chase on the sidewalk after Aaron had threatened him with a knife. His mother was oddly silent and he started to get concerned.

“Mom? Are you still there?”

“I’m still here. I had you on speakerphone and I didn’t notice that your brother had walked in.”

“How long ago?” Riley asked.

“When you started telling your story. I’m leaving in half an hour and I’m coming to get you and bring you back home,” Matt said.

Riley shook his head though he didn’t realize in the moment that it was lost on the two people he was talking to over the phone. “Guys, I’m thankful for your concern, but I’m not leaving Amber Beach. I’m okay here.”

“Matt, Riley seems pretty sure that he’s okay. All of his friends are being supportive and they’ve put up fliers to help the police find Aaron.”

“I don’t care. Riley’s coming home before that bastard finally kills him.”

Riley started feeling anxious about having to stand up to his brother, but he knew he had to do it. “That’s a great idea, Matt. Bring me back to the place where he’d expect me to run to. He has no idea where I am right now and he has no way of finding out.”

“I’m driving up,” Matt reiterated. He could hear the sound of the front door slamming back home. 

Riley could hear his mother sigh. “I’m sorry, hon. I didn’t realize he was listening. I’ll go talk to him.”

“Thanks, Mom. I love you.”

“I love you too. Be safe.”

Riley hung up the phone and he placed it on the table beside the bed. He stood up and walked out of the room to find Chase working on his skateboard. 

“Riley, I am so sorry. I should have been more careful.”

“It’s not your fault, Chase. I should have told them sooner like I said before. Matt’s probably going to drive up and he’s going to try to get me to go back home.”

Chase looked saddened by the news. He avoided making eye contact with Riley and focused on the wheels of the skateboard. “Oh?”

“I’m not leaving,” Riley promised. “Assuming you don’t mind me staying here a little longer.”

“You can stay as long as you want, bro.”

“Thanks. How do you feel about letting Matt sleep on the couch if I can’t convince him to drop his Roman sentry routine?”

Chase laughed. “You’d let your brother sleep on this thing? That’s kind of cruel and unusual punishment.”

“Probably. He could always sleep in his truck.”

“He’s just worried about you. There’s a lot of people that care about you, Riley.”

“I guess so. Uh, what do you want to do today?”

Chase looked up at him. “I don’t know. Maybe it would be safer for us to just stay here?”

Riley sat next to him on the couch. It was definitely uncomfortable, though he suspected it had more to do with the couch being new and not broken in yet. “It might be. I just thought you’d want to go skateboarding.”

“I don’t mind skipping it for a day or two. It isn’t like I’ll forget all my sweet moves.”

“We could go to the base. Matt will probably show up there in order to pick me up. Also, I need to have a powwow with my energem and it might help to have Keeper close if something goes wrong.”

“Sure. I’ve already taken a shower so that bathroom is all yours. We can leave once you’ve had breakfast.”

“I’m not hungry,” Riley said.

Chase shook his head. “No way. I’m not going to have to listen to your brother yell at me for not feeding your breakfast. It’s the most important meal of the day.”

“Fine. Do you have anything besides vegemite?”

Chase scoffed at the idea. “Australians eat vegemite, Riley. We New Zealanders eat marmite. Besides, I was thinking about banana pancakes and whipped cream.”

Riley couldn’t ignore the sound of his stomach growling at the mention of pancakes. “Give me ten minutes to shower and change and we’ll be on our way.”

“No worries. But breakfast is on me since you payed for everything yesterday.”

“Deal.”

Riley walked into the bathroom and took of his shirt. He walked to get the water started and made sure the curtain was closed so that none of it would escape. He returned to the mirror and got a look at his cuts and bruises. The dark splotches around his neck had started to lighten up but only slightly. The bruises over his ribs looked exactly the same except for a small amount of shrinkage, though it was hardly noticeable when they looked that bad. The only upside was that his split lip was almost completely healed. His black eye was still visible too, and he began to worry about Matt’s reaction when he would see his injuries for himself.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Question for the day: Do you think that Matt is overreacting?


	13. Chapter 13

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is a bit longer. Enjoy!

Riley was alone in the base. Chase was wrangled into working a one hour shift to cover for an exam that Shelby needed to take, and Riley was thankful that Chase had something to do other than keep an eye on him. Not that he minded having Chase’s eyes on him, of course.

He held the murky energem in his hands and kept his gaze focused on it. His breathing was even and he was in a meditative state when his hands began to tickle from the energy inside the energem. He had never been able to feel it just by holding it before.

“Why are you sick? Why is our bond damaged?”

The energem began to hover a few inches above his palm. Riley waited for a response, but he couldn’t hear it saying anything to him. He was on the verge of giving up when the crystal dropped back into his hands, the structure even darker than it had been when he started. “I don't understand,” he whispered. 

His logical mind was looking for an explanation, any sign of visual or auditory clues. The problem was that his emotional side was being ignored. Once that thought dawned on him, Riley closed his eyes. He cupped his hands around the energem and he thought about how he felt when the energem first gave him the power to help himself, and then to help other people. 

A handful of words appeared in his mind, all mixed up and confusing. Only when he began to unscramble them did he understand what it was that the energem was trying to tell him.

_**We are not damaged. We are evolving.** _

Riley’s eyes opened and he looked down. The green was almost completely masked by the cloudy smoke-like substance that was taking over. He couldn’t understand what it meant and he knew he would have to find Keeper for more answers. “Evolving into what?” He asked it.

“Into who you truly are,” Keeper explained, appearing in front of him on the other side of the table.

“Keeper, how did you know I needed to talk to you?”

Keeper tilted his head to the side for a moment. “It is an intuition that one develops over many years. You succeeded in connecting to your energem?”

“Yes, I did. It told me that we’re evolving, but it didn’t explain into what.”

“Evolution can take many forms. I suspect that you already have the answer.”

“Well, I can’t think of what it could be.”

“Perhaps that is the way it is meant to be. The energem is evolving from green and growing darker. It’s almost…”

“It’s almost black,” Riley interrupted. He began to worry about Chase. “What could that mean? Chase already has the black energem.”

“Do not think of it as one replacing the other. The green energem will always remain as such.”

Riley held it up for Keeper. “It doesn’t look like there’s any green left.”

“The sky above us appears blue. That does not mean it actually is blue,” Keeper said.

That piqued Riley’s attention. “You’re talking about the visible light spectrum.”

“Indeed. The energem is in an energetic state in which the wavelength is out of the visual spectrum.”

“So, the energem isn’t green because the wavelength is higher. Keeper, why would the energy need to change so drastically?”

“I know a great deal about the energems, Riley, but I must confess that there is an equal amount of information that I am not aware of. I have never seen an energem behave like this before. They possess untold power and a sophistication that is almost sentient. Tell me this: did the energem answer you when you asked it to?”

“Yes.”

“It chose you for a reason. I can only theorize that it would evolve at this point in time for a purpose. I suspect it won’t be long before that purpose is revealed to you.”

“Thank you, Keeper. Can I ask you another question?”

“Yes, please do.”

“Do our personalities have any influence on the energem’s color? I mean, if I were more like Koda, would my energem be blue instead of green? Is it set in stone?”

“The energem chose well when it picked you, my friend. Your intelligence is advanced, your logic sound. I do believe personality plays a part in the energem’s energy and where it is located on the visual spectrum, but that doesn’t mean that you would wake up tomorrow with an orange energem if your personality were to suddenly shift.”

“Maybe it’s not about our personality at all. Maybe it’s the energem’s personality.”

Keeper smiled with his eyes. “Maybe we will both find out one day in the near future. Excuse me, I have other matters I must attend to, but I will be around if you or the others have need of me.”

“Thanks, Keeper.”

Riley watched him vanish out of the room like he was so fond of doing. He looked at his energem before placing it back on the cord around his neck. He had thought of asking Kendall to look at it. After all, she knew almost as much about the energems as Keeper, but now it seemed like even she wouldn’t be able to give him any details. He was just going to have to wait and see what happened next.

He stood up and decided to check out the Dino Bite Cafe. He got inside and took an empty table, impressed with how many people were having lunch there. He was still pretty full from breakfast but he was thirsty, and Shelby did seem to make the best smoothies out of all of the people that worked there.

He was surprised when he looked into the kitchen and didn’t see anyone there. Curiosity got the better of him and he walked to the back and looked for the people that should have been working. He moved to the cooler and opened the door, but it too was empty. He was starting to give up when he heard a sound coming from the hallway. He opened the door from the kitchen that connected to the hallway and he stepped through. 

Kendall, Chase, Ivan, and Koda all turned to him, tension visible on their faces. “Guys, what’s wrong?”

“It’s nothing, mate. Let’s go down to the base and you can try to teach me chess again.”

Chase walked towards him but Riley didn’t move. He looked at Kendall and it became clear that he wasn’t going to just go away and pretend whatever was happening wasn’t going on. “It’s okay, Chase,” Kendall said. “He has a right to know.”

“Riley... in danger,” Koda revealed. "We protect."

He looked to Kendall to explain what Koda meant.

“A couple of police officers saw Aaron heading this way while they were performing a traffic stop. The museum's security guards were alerted and one of them saw him on one of the exterior security cameras. They think he’s hiding somewhere in the museum.”

Riley felt nauseated as goosebumps started to cover his arms. “He’s looking for me. I can’t believe he would be foolish enough to hide here. He’d have to realize the police spotted him and that they'd contact us.”

“He might be hoping that they will fail in their duties, Sir Riley.”

“Or that he’ll get lucky and continue to avoid getting caught. I mean, they haven't found him yet.” Chase offered.

“Okay. Can we all go to the base? He might hurt you guys to try to get to me and I don’t want that to happen.”

Kendall relented when it became clear to her that Riley was insistent on all of them sticking together. “We’ll all go. The guards are going to sweep the building and we’ll wait for their call downstairs.”

Riley could feel the adrenaline moving throughout his body and he was on the verge of having a panic attack. ”What about Tyler and Shelby?"

"We'll call them too, Riley. Don't worry."

They followed Kendall to the base, pausing a few moments at key places to make sure that they weren't being watched or followed. Riley was able to relax once they all reached the confines of the base, but that was short lived. He needed for Shelby and Tyler to be as safe too, and the same went for Matt whenever he arrived in town.

Kendall contacted Shelby and Tyler and warned them to avoid the museum for the next few hours. The guards continued their search of the facility upstairs and it wasn't long that they called and reported that Aaron wasn't found. The problem was that he was seen on camera entering the building but not leaving, and there was concern that he could still be inside. Riley began wishing he had never met Aaron, even if there were a couple of positives to him coming into his life.

Chase was staring at Riley, who was visibly shaken. ”Penny for your thoughts?"

Riley’s color had started to shift towards pale. He could almost hear his heart thumping through the blood vessels in his ear. ”I’m wishing Aaron and I had never met.”

Kendall received another phone call. It was short and she barely had time to say anything before the other person hung up. "They're getting complaints upstairs. It seems the entire staff of the cafe has vanished in the middle of the lunch rush."

"All those people...hungry," Koda said. It was evident that he sympathized with their predicament.

"We aren't going back if it isn't safe."

"Maybe we should," Riley suggested. A plan was forming in his mind.

"Even if Aaron is still in the museum?" Ivan questioned.

"I'm the one he wants. We can use me to lure him out of hiding!"

"Isn't that a little risky?"

"Yes, but totally worth it. It's win/win as long as I don't get maimed or killed."

Kendall crossed her arms. It was obvious that she was weighing the pros and cons of Riley’s plan. She couldn't ignore Chase’s concerns either, but Riley’s willingness to give it a try was paramount. ”It’s up to you, Riley." 

"It might work. Just tell security to be ready if he does show up."

Kendall remained in the base to watch them on the security feeds while the rest of them returned to the cafe. Some of the people had left and the rest of the customers greeted them with furrowed brows and sarcastic remarks. Riley sat at an empty table with a clear view of both his friends and the security cameras. He watched Chase start to work the grill and found his movements almost relaxing.

He never expected Aaron to fall for his plan, and he was scared when a figure tapped him on the shoulder. Startled, he turned around, but he was relieved by the person he saw. 

"Were you expecting someone else?" Matt asked.

"Have a seat and I'll tell you about it."

Matt joined him at the table. He couldn't help but stare at Riley's injuries, though most of the more serious ones were hidden under the clothes that Riley specifically picked out to help hide them. "I'm going to pummel the little freak," Matt promised.

"Shhh. We think he's hiding in the museum and we're trying to use me as bait to lure him out."

Matt’s eyes widened. ”That's the most ridiculous idea I've ever heard. This isn't a movie! We're talking about your life."

"I'm aware of that. While we're on the subject of it being my life, I'm not going home with you."

"Like you have a choice."

"I'm eighteen now. I get to decide where I go."

Matt's jaw tightened. "Even if it gets you killed?"

"Stop being so dramatic. They're going to catch him and put him in jail. He'll get help and hopefully get over the amount of fun he has causing me pain. I'm not going to run home like a scared puppy that got kicked."

"You're naive. You think this guy you have a crush on can protect you?"

Riley blushed but he chose to play dumb. "What are you talking about?"

"The guy you're staying with. He's the one you always tell us about in your emails. Did you think we didn't know?"

"My crush on Chase isn't relevant to the conversation we're having. I'm talking about autonomy, the ability to make my own decisions."

“Riley, I know what _autonomy_ means."

"Good. Look, it's great to see you and I appreciate that you came to make sure I'm okay, but I need you to understand that I'm not the same sixteen year old kid that was dealing with this back home."

"We'll talk about this later," Matt interjected. That was his signature move. He would tell you that you'd discuss it later but his mind was already made up and things were going to go his way. Riley fully intended on convincing his brother and he wondered whether or not Matt was really prepared to take him back against his will.

A figure moved towards them. Riley turned and he saw that it was Kendall and not his violent ex-boyfriend. 

"Riley, the coast is clear. The security guards saw him leave through the loading dock a few minutes ago. They've already alerted the police."

“Well, at least I didn't have to talk to him. Miss Morgan, this is Matt, my brother. Matt, this is Miss Morgan. She's the boss around here."

Matt stood up and removed his hat. He shook her hand with a smile on his face. "It's so nice to finally meet you, Miss Morgan. Riley tells us about you in his emails quite often."

"Nice to meet you too. He tells you only good things, I hope."

"Oh, absolutely. We can tell that he respects you very much. He's frequently said that you're the most intelligent woman that he's ever met."

Kendall smiled back at Matt. Riley felt like he was in the twilight zone with the amount of flirting and pheromones being tossed around. He stood up and cleared his throat just to get them to release hands and avoid looking at each other for a few seconds. "Excuse me. I'm going to go tell everyone that my plan to capture my crazy ex has failed."

"We'll be here," Matt promised. Kendall happily joined him at the table.

Riley walked into the kitchen and Chase and the others moved towards him. "Any news?"

"Yep. My brother and Kendall are out there flirting it up like two lovebirds on prom night. Also, Aaron escaped through the loading dock and any immediate threat of death has passed."

Koda hugged him because that is what Koda did. He didn't understand sarcasm all that well and Riley couldn't bear the thought of ending the hug and hurting his friend's feelings. 

"Kendall could end up being your sister in law. Wouldn't that be funny?" Chase inquired.

"Why would that be funny?" Ivan asked.

Riley stayed quiet as Chase explained it, all the while Koda kept him in a hug. It wasn't long before the angry comments from the customers started up again. A few of them asked if any of them ever got any work done and, if so, how they accomplished it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Don't you just want to give Koda a hug and tell him everything is going to be okay?


	14. Chapter 14

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Riley never imagined that Matt and Chase would have a personality conflict with each other.

Riley decided that he had had enough of being at work without working. Now that he was hungry, he and Chase had decided to go get some lunch. Matt came along even though he had to be pried away from Kendall. Riley and Chase didn't care what they ate and Matt insisted they go somewhere that served real food, so they ended up at a neighborhood diner.

"It must be nice seeing Riley again after him being away from home for so long. Am I right, bro?"

Matt stared at Chase. ”I'm not your _bro_."

"No, I know. I didn't mean anything by it."

"Matt, just relax. That's how they talk in New Zealand," Riley explained.

Matt leaned across the table. "What are you guys playing at? Riley is in danger and you and your friends are just acting like it's some game."

"That's not true at all,” Riley said, hoping to reassure his brother. He looked at the two of them and he wondered which of them was going to win the undeclared staring contest that had begun when they all sat down.

"I'm not sure what you're accusing us of. If you think we aren't taking what happened to Riley seriously, you’re mistaken. We've been putting up fliers around town. Kendall went with him to the hospital and made sure he was taken care of. I made sure he's staying with me so that Aaron can't find him. What should we be doing that we aren’t?" Chase questioned.

Riley mentally added a tic to the Chase column of the scoreboard. He turned to his brother and waited for a response.

"If you're so concerned with his safety, why did you let him be bait for the guy trying to hurt him?"

Chase laughed. ”Have you ever told Riley that he can't do something?"

"All the time. It's called being protecti..."

"Overbearing?" Chase interrupted.

"Protective. It's part of being an adult. That's something I'm not so sure you're capable of understanding since you're so concerned with skateboarding and scoring dates with chicks, bro."

"That's not fair, Matt," Riley scolded. Matt continued to ignore him.

"Not that it's any of your business, but I also have a job, I volunteer, and I go to school. Some of us actually venture away from home when we grow up. We take in new ideas and try to improve ourselves instead of sticking to the same old routine we’ve known our whole lives."

Riley's eyes widened at the insult. "Chase, that's not exactly fair to Matt. You know he helps my mom run the farm."

"Are you insinuating that I'm afraid of leaving home to see what's out there?"

Chase shrugged. "I wouldn't know. I'm too busy _going on dates with chicks_ to think about what you do or don't do."

Clearly annoyed, Matt pointed to Riley while he kept his gaze on Chase. ”What are your intentions with my brother?"

Confused by the question, Chase raised his hands so that they were level with his shoulders. His eyebrows were raised, his head only slightly tilted forward. ”I don't know what you mean."

"I'm just wondering if you're planning on using him like all the other people you go on dates with. The way Riley tells it, you get off more on being fawned over than you do by getting physical with a girl. Is that because you're hiding in the closet and unable to seal the deal, or is it because you're afraid of commitment and too shallow to see that the universe doesn't revolve around how many people are attracted to you?"

Riley didn't agree with anything his brother said, but he mentally added a point to Matt's score. He was afraid to see who the winner would be at the rate they were going. 

"I'm straight and I only date girls. Riley's a great guy, but he's not my idea of a good time if you get what I mean, mate. I may be a little shallow, but I more than make up for it by how I treat those I care about. Since we're on the subject, when's the last time you even went on a date? Are you really too busy helping mommy or are you just too scared to have a life of your own?"

Riley put his hand over his eyes. All he wanted was to have a nice meal and celebrate the fact that Aaron wasn't going to come from around the corner and eviscerate him in front of everyone. He didn't need the start of a feud to develop before they even put in their drink orders, especially between the two people that were most important to him. 

"I help my mother out so she doesn't have to do it all on her own. Where's your mom? Back in New Zealand all by herself, struggling to raise her daughter because her son's too selfish to stay home and help out, I imagine.”

They were both getting red in the face. They were getting stares from other diners in the restaurant, and the waitress looked like she was trying to appear busy in order to avoid coming over to them. 

"I don't know what my brother sees in you. I'll be damned if he's going to be used and discarded by someone like you," Matt said, his eyes narrowed.

"I don't want anything to do with your brother when it comes to the bedroom, and if you can't accept that then you're just as deluded as he is."

Chase's choice of words stung, but Riley was too busy feeling self-conscious over the amount of people that were now looking at him. "Guys, people are starting to stare," Riley warned. He felt like hiding under a dark rock for the rest of his life.

"Then it's settled. Riley is coming home with me!"

"No way. He's staying here,” Chase countered.

"Who do you think you are? You _aren't_ his family," Matt pointed out.

"He's staying and that's final! I don't have to be family to help take care of him."

Riley had had enough. Everyone was staring anyway and he didn't even care about the attention at that point. He stood up and slammed his fist down on the table. Both of their heads snapped towards him. "I don't know what's wrong with you two, but you're both acting like children. I'm embarrassed to say that you're my brother and that you're my best friend with you both behaving like this in public, in front of actual children that are capable of being calm and polite, children that are actually capable of keeping their voices at a reasonable level. And really, you two can both just go to hell!"

He turned and walked out and he felt justified by the amount of applause the other patrons of the restaurant gave him as he left. He didn't need tic marks or a scoreboard to know that he won that battle. 

He was intent on walking back to his apartment when he remembered that he couldn't go there. Choosing to go back to the restaurant after what happened would just make him look like a fool with no backbone, and he didn't want to return to the museum with no reason for being there. He looked around and there wasn't a bench in sight, so he walked into the closest store. It was a bookstore, and he was greeted by Aaron's face when he entered.

One of the fliers that Tyler had helped him create was taped at eye level to a bookcase. Riley stared at it with all of the rage he felt starting to uncork. "I hate you. None of this would be happening if you never came here for me," he said. He reached up and tore down the picture, balling it up in his fist. He tossed it in the trash can and then spun around to go back outside.

Matt and Chase had caught up to him by that point. 

"We're sorry," Chase said.

Matt agreed. "It's obvious that we both care about you. I'm just afraid of losing you and I got angry after seeing you using yourself as bait."

"I know. I'm scared too, okay? But I'm not sorry for what I said in there. You guys were being jerks."

"We know."

"We're sorry."

"I want pancakes,” Riley announced suddenly.

Chase smiled. "You had banana pancakes this morning for breakfast,” he reminded him.

Riley nodded. "I know. They were really good and now I want them for lunch."

Matt shrugged, not really caring where they ate at that point. "I guess none of us can show our faces back in that diner, at least for a few days."

"Nope," Riley agreed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope the Matt/Chase confrontation lived up to your expectations. I so wanted them to get into a physical fight but I didn't think it would fit with their personalities. It would have been an interesting trigger opportunity for Riley, however.
> 
> Leave a comment and let me know if it was worth the wait!


	15. Chapter 15

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so sorry to leave all of you hanging! I haven't felt much like writing since I last posted. I think I just needed a little time away from the story to regain my focus.
> 
> I've edited this chapter so you don't have to keep waiting, but it is the only one I'm uploading tonight (instead of the multiple chapters I usually upload at a time). I am tired and need to get some sleep, but I promise to get back to updating more regularly.
> 
> Thanks for hanging in there!

"Is this awkward? This is awkward." Chase said.

He was sitting next to Riley in bed, both of them still feeling a mix of emotions after the argument between Chase and Matt in the diner. To make matters worse, Matt was sleeping on the couch in the other room. It was either that or the floor, but Matt graciously accepted the couch over the idea of sleeping in his truck.

Riley did his best to analyze the situation, and part of that involved trying to understand everything from Chase’s point of view. He looked at his friend and was thankful that Chase cared enough about him to be willing to have an argument in the middle of a crowded diner. ”It’s fine. You can't make yourself gay any more than I can make myself straight."

Chase admired Riley’s ability to explain away things, especially considering how scientific his friend’s mind seemed to be, but he didn’t think that now was the time to let excuses explain away his poor behavior. ”Riley, most of what I said was just stuff that I thought I needed to say. I was trying to win an argument with your brother."

"I know."

"But I was also mean to you. I said you were deluded and I made it seem like you were infatuated with me. I'm really sorry."

Riley was bad at comforting people. He didn’t know how, like he had somehow missed school on the day that comforting others was a covered topic. Now it felt weird, like he was trying to put the moves on his friend even if that wasn’t the goal behind his arm moving to pat Chase’s leg. He placed his hands on his own knees instead, hopeful that they would’t be able to cause too much trouble there. ”Hotshot, you don't have to keep apologizing.”

"I really do. I was so cruel."

"Stop. I’m the one that should be apologizing . I'm the one that's interrupting your work schedule. I'm the one that's keeping you from skateboarding and going on dates. I'm the one that's making you feel uncomfortable, and you can’t even go back to your place and get some time away from me.”

Chase turned his body so that he was facing Riley. "You're not making me uncomfortable and I want you here. I'm in my bed with you because I want to be. I know what you think of me, mate, but I don’t sleep with every girl I go out with like it’s some kind of competition.”

"Can I get a percentage? Like, how many, twenty-five percent?"

That number caused Chase to chuckle. ”Try less than five."

Riley turned his own body so that they were now face to face. "Five percent is low for a guy with your numbers. Are you that bad in bed?” He couldn’t hold back a fleeting giggle at his own joke when Chase pretended to be offended.

"No, of course I’m not bad in bed. I just know how I come across, but I was raised to respect myself and treat sex as something shared between two people that care for each other. I don't just give it up to anyone that looks my way."

"Much to my chagrin," Riley joked.

"I just don't want you to have a bad opinion of me. I mean, the way your brother talked, it sounded like you told them that I bang every girl I encounter between my door and the museum's."

Riley shook his head. "No way! Sometimes I comment about some of your funny dating stories, and I may have said something about quantity, but I never suggested that you would bang anything that moves. You have standards."

"Much to your chagrin," Chase replied, causing Riley to flash a quick smile.

"You're a respectably guy, Chase. I don't have a crush on you simply because I can't stop thinking about us going at it, or because I want to be the one to turn the straight guy to my team. You're a good person with a good heart and that makes me admire you.”

Chase took his friend’s praise to heart and it made him feel better than he thought it would. He realized then that he had never really known Riley before, and he was glad that he was finally getting the opportunity to do so. 

"Riley, would you think it weird if I said that I'm kind of glad Aaron showed up?"

Riley took a beat to think about the answer, which came quick. ”Uh, yeah, for sure. What's wrong with you?"

Chase felt the need to clarify, so he took the opportunity. ”I don't mean him hurting you. I mean about me finding out about your sexuality and us spending more time together, just the two of us. It's made us closer."

"I guess it has. It’s also made our friendship stronger."

"Exactly. But if your brother is uncomfortable on the couch, he's not allowed to get in the bed with us."

Riley was on the same page. ”Agreed. See? We're even thinking alike."

"Goodnight, baby raptor."

"Goodnight, hotshot."

* * *

Riley woke up feeling well rested. He could hear Chase sleeping next to him and he couldn't help but turn and watch him sleep. The black ranger looked peaceful and content. Riley couldn't imagine him ever looking more relaxed.

He got out of the bed as carefully as possible to avoid waking Chase. He left the room and went and checked on his brother. Matt was reading one of the philosophy books from Chase's bookshelf, one with a cracked spine that indicated it had been well read. He pushed Matt's legs off the couch so that he could sit down. 

Matt looked up from the book and was met with Riley’s raised eyebrows, as if he was pointing out that he had been right about Chase all along. ”Okay, maybe there's more to him than I thought at first."

"Yeah, I made that mistake too. It takes a while to see the real Chase in his natural environment. He’s not quite how he seems on first glance; he’s like an onion with tons of layers.”

"He's going to break your heart,” Matt warned.

That wasn’t news to Riley. “Yeah, he will,” he admitted. “But then he'll help me fix it."

"I hope so. Are you sure you don't want to come back home with me?"

Riley nodded. "Yes, I belong here, at least for now. But I miss you and mom so much, and I miss Rubik more than I thought I would.”

"We'll all be back home when you're ready."

“Really? You aren't thinking of making a change to city life? Between Kendall and Chase's comments, I half expected you to move to town just to show him how forward thinking you can be."

Matt smiled. "It's tempting, for certain reasons over others, but my place is on the farm. Mom needs my help to run it and it's been in our family for three generations. I don't want to be the one that screwed it all up."

"You won't be - you're actually good at it. For me, it was a series of never ending chores, but it's different for you."

"I'm proud of it,” Matt said.

Riley wasn’t sure that he was ready for his brother to leave. He had missed him more than he cared to admit and he was as protective of his older brother as the guy was protective of him. "Chase was right about one thing: you do need to get out and date more, especially if you want there to be a fourth and a fifth generation."

"I already have someone in mind."

Riley raised an eyebrow. "Please tell me you're not thinking of whisking Kendall off her feet and turning her into a farm girl."

"I'd consider it, and I'm not just thinking about how pretty she is. She's intelligent and she gets excited by all that... stuff."

"I was the same way and you used to roll your eyes at me!”

Matt shrugged his shoulders in an unapologetic way. ”Yeah, well, you don't look as good talking about equations, geology, or physics as she does."

"I guess you're right."

Matt sat up and patted Riley on the shoulder. "Don't worry, Riley. You'll find someone that loves that about you. Just give it time."

"I'll wait until I can wait no more. Then I’ll move in with you and your wife and your six children and be the quirky uncle that provides the occasional helpful platitude over breakfast.”

"This place has been good for you. You're different, more mature, and a lot more focused on the things that are important."

"Sword fighting isn't important?"

"Not unless you're some kind of superhero."

“I’m working up to it," he joked, because his brother had no idea that he was a Power Ranger, and thus had no way of knowing those sword fighting skills had saved his and his friends lives on more than one occasion.

"I'll tell Mom that you're going to call her in a couple days. I should hit the road."

“Wait, you're leaving now?"

"The pigs won't feed themselves. Tell Chase thanks for lending me his couch for the night, and for taking such good care of you. Be safe, huh?”

"I will. Thanks for coming to visit."

"Any time, little brother. All you have to do is call.”


	16. Chapter 16

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Things get a little bit interesting in this chapter.   
> (c:

Chase looked up from where he was sitting. He was on the floor of the base and his skateboard was disassembled in pieces around him as he tried to make it go smoother and faster. Tyler walked in through the entrance that was a short walk from the Dino Bite Cafe. 

Tyler waved at Chase as he approached him. "Hey. Where's Riley?"

"He's upstairs with Shelby and Koda."

"How's he doing?"

Chase thought that he was doing a little better after seeing his brother, but he was cautious of saying that their friend wasn’t still struggling at times. ”Pretty good. He's still scared that Aaron is going to come after him."

"I can't blame him. That guy is a menace. They should lock him up and throw away the key."

"I couldn't agree more. Are you here for a shift?"

"Yep, in half an hour. Then it's two days of relaxation, mother nature, and camping. I don't know which of us is more excited - Shelby or me."

Chase was impressed with Tyler’s style. ”Oh, so it's an overnight date? Things are getting serious then, eh?"

Tyler couldn’t contain his smile. ”It looks that way, man. It's awesome; I never thought I would find someone like her."

"You guys fit well together. It's like it was fate or something."

“Who knows, it could be fate. What about you and Riley?" Tyler questioned. "You two have been getting closer these last few days."

Chase looked away from him. ”It's not that. I've only ever been into girls.” There was a part of himself that felt bad saying it, like he knew that he should be into Riley because he was such a great guy.

"Well, yeah, but it's different with Riley. I mean, the way you look at him is... It seems like there's more to it than just friendship."

“No, he’s just a good friend."

"Dude, it's obviously more than that. You like him."

Chase was unsure how to respond. "I've never... I don't..."

Tyler walked closer to him and sat across from him on the floor, careful to avoid stepping on anything. "Sexuality isn't some finite classification. It's more like a fluid line that shifts from person to person and situation to situation."

Chase laughed. He wasn’t offended that Tyler seemed to have the wrong idea, but he felt the need to clarify. ”I think I would know if I was into guys, bro.”

"You aren't into guys,” Tyler reiterated, matter-of-factly. “I mean, do I turn you on?"

Chase didn't even need to think. "Not even a little bit."

"You're not attracted to guys, Chase, but you are attracted to Riley."

“You’re not making sense, bro.”

Tyler tapped his index fingers on the table in front of him as he tried to think of some way to make his point and prove to Chase that he was correct. ”Do me a favor, okay? Close your eyes for a minute; I'll prove to you that I’m right."

Chase closed his eyes. 

"I want you to imagine the most beautiful girl in the world, someone you could see yourself falling in love with. What is it about her that turns you on?"

Chase smiled at the mental image he conjured. ”She’s beautiful. She's compassionate and intelligent, and she's got a wicked sense of humor."

"Great. Now tell me what her hair color is."

Chase thought her hair was especially beautiful. “Light brown…almost blond in parts.”

"What color are her eyes?" Tyler asked.

"Green. They're gorgeous."

"Good. Now, imagine that Riley is standing next to her. He has the same hair color and green eyes. He's intelligent, compassionate, and he has a great sense of humor. Even more important is that he's actually real - you know him. Now, if you had to choose only one of them to be with for the rest of your life, which one would you choose?"

Chase’s eyes opened rapidly. "I choose Riley!”

Tyler clapped his hands. "You see? You already have feelings for Riley, my friend. You're just too scared to admit them to yourself."

Chase met Tyler's eyes. He knew it was probably some kind of trick, some form of reverse psychology, but it made something inside of Chase take notice. He liked sharing a bed with Riley and he didn't want that to stop. He felt like he could tell Riley anything and that his friend would understand him. That wasn't true for just anyone.

"This is so weird. Did you just do some kind of American brainwashing technique? I feel like this is what they do in the commercials to make us want to eat fast food."

"You have feelings that you're ignoring, Chase. You can't ignore them anymore, especially since it’s time for you to wake up.”

Chase opened his eyes and sat up in bed with enough force that the blankets were knocked off onto the floor. Realization that all of what he had experienced was a dream set in and he began to wonder if what he dreamed was true or just his subconscious playing tricks on him. 

He climbed out of bed and walked to the living room, calling out: "Riley? Are you here?"

Riley replied quickly. ”Yeah, I've just been reading this philosophy book of yours. Matt was reading it when I woke up, but he took off to get home so that he could work the farm. He asked me to thank you for looking out for me."

“No worries."

Riley looked up from the book. The expression painted on Chase’s face was unreadable and yet he knew something wasn't quite right. "Are you okay? Did you have a bad dream?"

"No, not bad exactly."

Chase looked at Riley in a way that made it seem like he was viewing his friend for the first time. Riley became self conscious and he directed his gaze to a bright spot on the floor where the sun was shining in through the blinds. "Do you need anything?"

“No, I'm sorry for being weird, mate. I guess my dream just has me thinking about things."

"What was your dream about? Do you want to talk about it?"

"Not yet, but thanks. Uh, is there any news from Kendall?"

Riley shook his head. "I talked to her about an hour ago and the police have some leads they're working on but there’s nothing concrete. He's still out there somewhere."

"He's not here. That's good enough for me."

"That's good enough for me too. Are you hungry?"

Chase nodded. ”Yeah. I need to take a shower."

"Go ahead. I'll keep reading this book and we can talk about it while we're waiting for our food."

Chase retreated to the bathroom and he turned on the water for his shower, adjusting it to the perfect temperature. He walked to the mirror above the sink and looked at his reflection, the dream still heavy on his mind. "I'm attracted to Riley," he said to himself, recognizing that it was true. "Holy freaking hell."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I used the well-used dream trope in this chapter because it seemed a perfect way to get Chase thinking about how he feels for Riley. I mean, the guy has only dated girls and I imagine that you'd talk yourself out of dating a guy for the first time, especially if it means labeling yourself as something. I hope you liked it.


	17. Chapter 17

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> One of Chase's friends makes an appearance in this chapter. Enjoy!

Chase was nervous as he walked through the front door of Moana’s Kiwi Kurios. He was alone because Riley felt bad for co-opting all of his free time, so he gave Chase the rest of the day off and promised to stay at the base and wait for the others to get off work before he left the museum. The scent of patchouli hit him as soon as he took a few steps inside of the shop, the door closing behind him.

A couple of old people were browsing through the store, picking up an item every so often only to return it where they found it. Chase admitted to himself that while Moana’s shop had a lot of neat and interesting items, he himself had never felt the need to purchase anything from there. Not seeing his friend, he was surprised when something brushed up against his leg. He looked down and saw Tabatha. He bent down and picked her up which caused her to purr.

He gave her some attention, brushing his hand along her back, before he continued looking around. “Where’s Moana?” He asked Tabatha. She meowed an unhelpful response.

He stopped walking when he finally heard her voice. She was telling the story of an item to a young woman of high school age. The girl rolled her eyes before the story was over and walked to the older man and woman. “This place is lame. Let’s go.”

The adult woman thanked Moana for her time before the three of them left. Moana turned and spotted Chase. She smiled widely and walked over to him, pulling him into a hug. “I haven’t seen you in weeks! We have a lot to discuss.”

She freed him and Chase put Tabatha on the floor. She ran off into the back of the shop and he looked up at Moana to see her giving him a strange look. “Something’s really off with your aura, Chase. What have you been up to?”

“I didn’t know where else to go. Something’s happened.”

“Yes, to Riley.”

Surprise flashed on Chase’s face. He had never given much credence to Moana’s fortune telling skills. In fact, he thought of them more as a gimmick than an actual ability, but he was beginning to wonder if he had been wrong. “How’d you know?”

“Well, I heard the spirits talking about trouble in the area, you see. Then, I saw the flier at the Shop Mart where I pick up Tabatha’s food and treats. I got a vibe off of it and nearly lost my balance. How is your friend?”

“Riley was hurt pretty seriously, but he was out of the hospital the next day. He’s doing better now, although the guy that hurt him is still out there somewhere.”

“Don’t you worry about that, love. All of that will work itself out in no time. You’ll see.”

“I hope so.”

She looked him in the eye and pointed to a chair. “You, sit there. I’ll be right back with some tea.”

He did as instructed. She returned almost five minutes later with a warm cup of tea for the both of them. He took a drink and was surprised at how good the taste was. He expected it to be an herbal concoction, something that tasted like a mix between fallen leaves and mulch.

“This is one of my own blends. It’s soothing to the mind and helps one to relax. Now, tell me what’s got you so confused.” She sat in a second chair she had behind the cash register and gave him her full attention. 

“It’s about Riley, actually…”

“Go on, then,” she encouraged.

“Well, I think I might be…I’m pretty sure that I’m…attracted to him.”

Moana squealed with excitement, her hands waving around her head like they were performing some sort of elaborate interpretative dance of their own accord. “Oh, he’s very handsome. And quite smart. I knew there was something there between you two when I met him, I did. But things can always change, you see, and the future is never truly set in stone. Why don’t you seem happy about this, love?”

“I’ve only ever been attracted to girls,” he began. “I don’t know what this means. He’s my friend and I care for him, but what if something does start to happen between us and then I realize I was wrong. Won’t that hurt the both of us more than me just ignoring how I feel?”

“I don’t know. Isn’t it better to give yourselves the chance of being happy rather than preventing it from ever happening? If you care about him, isn’t it better for him to know that? The alternative would be to think you don’t care and you could quite possibly lose out on something wonderful.”

Chase sighed. He was desperate and he knew he needed to get to the point of his visit. “Can’t you tell my fortune? Tell me what I should do,” he pleaded.

She placed a hand on his knee and squeezed before taking another sip of her tea. “I could do that, love, but the spirits aren’t always clear on matters of the heart. Besides, I think you already know the answer. The question is whether you’re willing to risk things changing and if you’ll take what comes as a result.”

“So, what should I do? What would you do?”

She gave him a sad smile which quickly slipped away. “There is rarely a valid excuse to hide from love. I’m one of those fools that ignored the chance when it was in front of me and now look at where I am. I have a good life, I have friends and I have Tabatha, but I’m alone. If there’s a chance that you could find happiness with Riley, you should run towards it and hold onto it with every fiber of your being.”

“Okay,” he said, his mind made up. “I’m scared. I don't want to do something wrong.”

That caused her to giggle. “Sometimes doing things wrong is the only way to figure out when you’re doing something right!”

“Thanks, Moana. I have to go find him.”

He started to get up but Moana grabbed him and kept him still for a moment. She let out a gasp and then she looked into his eyes. “Do me a favor. Stay in tonight after the sun goes down, yes? And don’t answer the door if someone knocks four times.”

“Will it be the guy that hurt Riley?”

“I can’t see who’s on the other side, love, but whoever it is will be trouble. Promise me.”

“I promise,” he said, and he intended on keeping his word.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There is something about Moana that I love. She kind of reminds me as a cross between Endora and Aunt Clara from Bewitched. I felt like Chase would go to her for advice and, well, she ships Chiley with the best of 'em.


	18. Chapter 18

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just as Moana predicted, someone comes knocking on Chase's door. Who could it be?

“I have to go back to work tomorrow,” Chase announced.

Riley could tell that his friend didn’t like the idea, but it wasn’t like Kendall could manipulate the schedule endlessly while still justifying his internship to the museum’s board of curators. “It was great that you got as many days off as you did. You never know, you might like getting back into the routine of working at the cafe.”

“It’s not that. I’m just worried about you. I mean, I know the others will keep you company, but you can’t just sit around waiting for Aaron to get arrested. On the other hand, it’s risky to go out where he can find you if he’s still roaming the streets looking to finish what he started.”

Riley understood his friend’s concerns because he shared them. “I thought you said that Moana had a vision, something about four knocks?”

“She couldn’t tell who it was that was doing the knocking. It could be anyone.”

Riley shrugged. “Well, it can’t be that many people. I don’t have that many crazy ex-boyfriends. It’s not like I went out with all the cute guys at my high school.”

A twinge of jealousy gnawed at Chase. “I’ve been meaning to ask you about that. Were you and Burt…?”

Riley was able to connect the dots on Chase’s open ended question and he was surprised at his friend’s bluntness. “Burt and I? No way. Why would you even think that?”

“I don’t know. I guess I’ve just been trying to figure you out ever since I found out about you being gay and having an ex-boyfriend. I mean, I’ve been going over what I know about you and seeing if there are clues to anything else I might have missed.”

“Chase, I’m sorry if all of this makes it harder for you to trust me.”

“I trust you completely, baby raptor.”

“Well, I trust you too.”

“Good,” Chase said. “Now, you pick the movie while I pick the popcorn.”

Following Moana’s advice, they decided to enjoy a relaxing night in Chase’s apartment. The only television that Chase had was in his bedroom, so they covered the bed with comfortable pillows to prop themselves up. 

Three minutes later and Chase was leading Riley to the bed, a bowl of freshly popped popcorn in his hand. He handed the remote for the television to Riley and got himself situated. “What did you decide?”

“I’ve narrowed it down to two options: _The Hunt for Red October_ or _Lethal Weapon 4_?”

“Oh, both of those are great choices. But do either of those have any fencing scenes?”

Riley stuck his tongue out at Chase. He felt like an idiot and quickly stopped. “I like other things too, skateboard boy. Don’t think I didn’t see your copy of _Dogtown and Z-Boys_ next to all of those Tony Hawk DVDs.”

“Those are for educational purposes. Put in whichever movie is longer.”

Riley checked the back of the DVD cases and pulled out the disc for _The Hunt for Red October_. He fed it into the machine and then walked back to the bed. They both found comfortable positions as the DVD player loaded the disc menu. Riley handed the remote back to Chase and waited patiently for the movie to start. 

They were both relaxed after getting into the movie, and an hour in everything seemed to be calm and quiet. Four knocks disrupted their serenity and all they could do was look at each other. Neither made a move to get up and greet the person on the other side of the door. They chose to follow Moana’s words of caution and preferred to ignore it. Another four knocks reverberated throughout the apartment, louder this time. Riley moved in closer to Chase, his hands starting to shake from from the high amount of anxiety he was feeling.

Chase wrapped his arm around Riley and held him close. “Just focus on the movie,” he whispered. “I’m not going to let anything happen to you.”

Riley surrendered. He placed his head on his friend’s shoulder and focused on the movie, once again getting drawn into the plot. That calm only lasted minutes as another series of knocks struck the door.

“That was only three knocks,” Chase said, wondering if he had miscounted.

“Should we answer it?”

Chase was quick to make a decision. “Stay here. I’ll go see who it is.”

Chase stood up and approached the door in the other room. Three more knocks caused his own level of anxiety to increase. “Who is it?”He asked, hoping his voice was loud enough to carry to the other side.

“Officer Jenkins of the Angel Beach Police Department, sir. We’ve arrested a suspect hanging around your building and trying to see into the windows of your apartment.”

Chase unlocked the door and opened it. He didn’t recognize the officer but the uniform confirmed his story, as did the way he presented himself. “Who did you arrest?”

“A man by the name of Aaron Whitfeld. He has a warrant out for his arrest on an unrelated assault charge.”

Chase felt someone standing behind him and he turned. Riley was right there next to him, hearing all of this for himself. “They caught him?” Riley asked, not able to believe it was finally over.

“Yes, sir. Do either of you know the suspect?”

“I’m Riley Griffin. I’m the one he beat up and threatened to kill. He won’t be able to get out on bail, right?”

“I wouldn’t know. We’ll take him down to the station and file a report for the judge that will be hearing his case. The fact that he was arrested stalking you will hopefully prevent bail for being given, but I can’t say for sure.”

“It’s scary to think that he was out there watching us,” Riley admitted.

The officer seemed empathetic. “I’m sure the detectives handling your case will be in touch to discuss the next steps that they need to take. Do you have any questions before my partner and I take him to the station for processing?”

Riley shook his head. The officer left and Chase closed the door, double checking the locks out of habit more than actual fear now that Aaron was in police custody.

“I need to tell the others.”

Chase could see that his friend was still shaken up. He was concerned about all of it being stirred up again. “Let’s tell them tomorrow, okay? We have a movie to finish.”

Riley agreed and they returned to Chase’s bedroom. They had to rewind the movie to be able to see the parts they missed. Now that Riley’s attacker had been arrested, Chase began to grow concerned about what his absence would mean. He had just realized his attraction for his friend and now he was faced with the prospect of seeing him less.

“D-do you want to stay here tonight?”

Realization set in as Riley started to face the idea that their brief cohabitation experience was coming to an end. “Uh, would you mind?”

“Not at all. I mean, Aaron knows where I live and he knows that you’ve been staying here, but I still think it’s better for you to be here with me. To not be alone, I mean.”

Riley agreed. “Yeah. Maybe we could give it a couple of days and see how the case progresses?”

“Sure. That’s a good idea, mate.”

Riley laughed nervously. “I mean, I know you’re probably sick of me and you’d rather have someone prettier sharing your bed with you.”

“I like you being here,” Chase revealed.

Riley held his arms out and hugged Chase. It was a perfect moment, intimate, and it was something that they shared without any hesitation or confusion. The awkward part came after they separated and once their emotions started to bubble to the surface. 

Riley tried to focus his attention on the movie, but his thoughts kept drifting between Aaron and Chase. He couldn’t help but compare them in his mind. They seemed polar opposites, though Aaron had also seemed fun and caring before the abuse started. He knew it was foolish to be concerned about the same thing happening with Chase, especially since they weren’t even together and there was no possibility of that changing. He began to formulate a plan to get his mind off of Chase, but he admitted that it would be difficult to put that plan in motion while he was still sleeping next to his friend.

He was thankful that Chase didn’t seem uneasy around him. Worried that he was becoming a burden on Chase, he turned to his friend. Chase sensed that Riley had stopped paying attention to the movie and was watching him, so he turned and looked at Riley. “You alright, mate?”

“We’re going skateboarding tomorrow.”

“We are?”

“Yes. I know you have to work, but we can go before.”

“Are you sure? I can think of a dozen things that would be a lot more fun for you, although I do hate the idea of depriving you of seeing my mad skills in action.”

Riley laughed at the return of Chase’s cocky personality. “I really want to. You’ll skate on your board and show me some of the tricks you learned from those ‘educational DVDs.’ I’ll go with you when you go in for your shift and I’ll tell the others about Aaron being arrested.”

Chase liked the idea of spending time with Riley and even having the opportunity to show off for him, but he couldn’t help but question his friend’s reasoning. “You’re not worried about him getting out and coming back here…?”

“He won’t be able to get out on bail tonight, but the police might release him to his father in the morning. I just think we shouldn’t be here if that happens. Besides, you haven’t done anything fun because you’ve been trying to keep me company.”

Chase laughed at the absurdity of the second part of Riley’s statement, forgetting all about the concern the first part caused. “I’ve had loads of fun with you, mate. Look at us now! We’re eating popcorn and watching a movie.”

Riley sighed. “Okay. If you’re sure.”

“I’m sure. I’ll make you a deal, okay? I’ll go skateboarding tomorrow if you’ll let me teach you.”

Riley’s eyes widened. “Me? On a skateboard? That sounds like a dozen serious accidents waiting to happen.”

Chase thought about it for a moment and concluded that Riley was probably right. “Good point. We don’t want you falling down and hurting your ribs as they’re just starting to heal.”

“Let’s just go, okay? We’ll figure out the rest after. What time do you work?”

“I’m working eleven to five.”

“Then it’ll be great. Just trust me.”

“Okay, mate. Now you'd better rewind the movie because we’ve missed more of it.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Don't worry. Aaron has been arrested, yes, but there is still a lot more to come with him. Stay tuned!


	19. Chapter 19

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I spaced out and forgot to upload the next couple of chapters today. I only remembered because I checked my email and saw that a comment had come in giving me a gentle nudge/reminder (you know who you are). Thanks for waking me up!
> 
> I hope you like it.

* * *

Riley looked exhausted when Chase finally woke up. He yawned and turned to his friend, the initial happiness of the morning slipping away as he began to think about returning to his routine. He propped himself up on his elbows.

“Did you get any sleep?”

Riley was startled by the sudden voice after having not heard or felt Chase’s movements. He shrugged half-heartedly once his pulse began to normalize. “I kept thinking that he’d get out of jail and he’d come back here. I was afraid to go to sleep.”

Chase rolled onto his side. “You should have woken me. I would have stayed awake with you.”

Riley felt guilty enough with all of the support that he needed from Chase — he wasn’t about to add disturbing the guy’s sleep to the list of ways in which he had put his friend out. “I didn’t want to do that. You have to go to work in three hours and I wanted you to be well rested.”

“I am. I’m just sorry that you’re not.”

“No worries, mate,” Riley said, joking by way of imitating his friend’s choice of words and accent. “I’ll take a nap in the base if I need to. That’s the one place that he won’t be able to find me.”

“Riley, the guy isn’t going to get out of jail. He came back and threatened to hurt you a second time, not to mention adding in all of the past domestic violence and the fact that he was stalking you here. They’ll give him exactly what he deserves.”

Riley didn’t believe that for a second. His thoughts were filled with questions over whether or not Aaron’s father could contact someone and get his son released into his custody, whether or not the judge would be sympathetic to a male domestic violence survivor, and if the district attorney had enough evidence to prosecute the case. Just thinking about all of the ways the case could be ended without a favorable verdict sent chills throughout Riley’s entire body.

“Hey. We need to get moving if we’re going to get you to the skatepark.”

Chase reached for the energem secured around Riley’s neck and he held it in his hands. The darkness had subsided if only slightly, and it looked to be on the verge of returning to its normal state. “This looks better.”

Riley felt silly for not even paying that much attention to it. He was distracted with too many other things to notice the shift in color. “I guess so. Maybe it’ll be finished evolving soon and I’ll be able to protect myself again.”

Chase released Riley’s energem and he grabbed hold of his own. He was surprised to feel a difference in the crystal surface and wondered if all of them were slightly different in texture. “You don’t have to protect yourself, mate. I’ll protect you.”

“No, you’ve given up enough of your life for me already.”

“You’re being overly dramatic, Riley. I’m not giving up anything. I’m just helping out a friend.”

“Are you sure? It’s okay for you to feel annoyed that you couldn’t push me off on Tyler. I mean, I could have even asked Koda if I could stay with him.”

Chase hated the idea of Riley and Koda in the same bed, even if was just a pallet of blankets on the floor. “Don’t act like you being here is some inconvenience on me, okay? You’re my mate and I want you to be safe. Besides, I’m much better to look at than Koda.”

Riley smirked. “I’m not so sure. Koda’s a pretty good looking guy. Do you think you’re gonna look that good when you’re his age?”

Chase’s eyebrows raised. “Don’t even!”


	20. Chapter 20

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's another quick chapter with some team bonding. Kendall also addresses the fact that they haven't seen any more monsters which suggests they might be up to something nefarious.

* * *

The skateboarding adventure was a success. Chase had time to de-stress using his favorite hobby before he had to start work, and Riley had the opportunity to get some fresh air in between capturing photos of Chase’s moves on his cell phone. The pair of them had only been inside the museum’s walls for a few minutes before Kendall came up to them.

“I’m so glad you’re both here. You’re needed in the base.”

“Is something wrong?”

Kendall shook her head which resulted in causing her ponytail to swing briefly. “No, that’s the problem. I’ll explain when we get there.”

The guys shared a concerned look as they followed Kendall to the base. They found the rest of the team waiting for them and they took a moment to greet each other before Kendall cleared her throat. “I’m sorry to interrupt, but we need to have a serious discussion.”

Everyone faced her and gave her their full attention. Keeper held back and seemed to be observing, but Riley didn’t doubt that he would offer his opinion if he felt he needed to do so. Kendall clasped her hands together as she took a step toward Riley. “Riley, please tell me that you’ve made progress with your energem.”

He let out a sigh in response. His fingers found the cord around his neck and he held it up for all of his friends to see. The energem was lighter than it had been the last few days, but it still seemed to have a long way to go before it would be ready to be used. “It’s still taking time to evolve,” he explained.

“Evolve? Into what?” Shelby inquired.

Kendall turned to Keeper for an explanation. “It is a transformation that I have never seen before. The energems possess untold power and it is only natural to assume that they would be able to grow and develop, but I have never encountered anything like this occurring in all the time I have cared for them. It seems that all Riley can do is wait.”

Kendall rested her hands at her sides as she turned back to the rangers. “Does anyone else find it odd that we haven’t been attacked and that there haven’t been any trace of any monsters setting foot on Earth?”

Tyler nodded slowly. “I wondered about that. Do you think they’re responsible for Riley’s energem changing?”

“I have no way of confirming it, but I find it hard to believe they would be able to affect the energems without us knowing. I just can’t imagine how they aren’t aware of our situation and trying to use it to their advantage.”

Riley ignored the guilt he was feeling and tried to remain positive. “I doubt that they would view me being without the ability to morph as a sure sign that the rest of you could be easily defeated. Besides, they know that Prince Phillip is one of us now and that we can easily contact him should they attack. The team isn’t really down a ranger at all if you look at it in that light.”

“That’s right. Maybe they’re just preoccupied with something else for a change?” Chase asked.

Kendall began tapping her index fingers together as she weighed what she knew about their enemies with what she knew was not happening, specifically any assaults. They weren’t even trying to find any other energems. “It’s certainly possible. I’d advise you all to remain alert and aware over the next few days. The longer we go without an attack, the more likely it is that one will happen, sooner rather than later. Riley, please keep trying to connect with your energem. Any answers that you can provide might help us all be prepared for whatever changes are happening.”

“I will,” Riley promised. “Uh, since everyone is here, I want to tell you all that Aaron was arrested last night. He was stalking me at Chase’s place and the police saw him and picked him up.”

“That’s great!” Tyler said, immediately walking over and hugging Riley to congratulate him. It seemed an odd thing to be congratulated over to Riley, especially considering all of the legal battle that was ahead of him, but he appreciated the support and hugged Tyler back. The others each took their turns and Shelby snuck in a hug with Tyler before giving Riley one too.

“So, what’s the next step?”

“Well, I have to go to the police station in a couple of hours. Chase is going to go with me after he’s done with his shift.”

“For moral support,” Chase clarified. He was having trouble weighing his new feelings for Riley with how the others would think of him if they found out, so he was quick to make it seem like it was no big deal. It was, of course, and even though he found that the others seemed to buy it, he couldn’t help but fear their figuring him out. He turned to Riley and finally began to understand why he kept his sexuality a secret for so long.

“That’s a good idea,” Kendall said. “They probably just want to review your statement with the prosecutor.”

“Or they want to do a lineup like they do in the movies,” Shelby added.

“I hope it goes smoothly. I should also find out what his chances are on getting released on bail.”

The happiness that everyone was feeling had now deflated. The possibility of Riley getting hurt again returned to their minds as the chance of that happening improved if Aaron was released on bail. 

“We’re all here to protect you, Sir Riley,” Ivan said. “We’ll guard you around the clock if that is what is required to keep you safe.”

“Thanks. I figured that I could always hide out here if it came to that.”

“But it won’t,” Chase affirmed. “They’ll see Aaron for what he is.”

“I hope so.”

Kendall glanced at her watch and realized how long they had been talking. “It’s time for the shift change at the Dino Bite Cafe. You guys should get back to work.”

“Yes, Ma’am,” Shelby replied, throwing in a mock salute for the fun of it. Kendall couldn’t contain her smile and she watched as the group left, save for Riley, Keeper, and herself. 

“Well, I’ll try connecting to my energem again. Maybe it will give me some clues on how long this evolving process is going to take.”

“Great. Riley, I want you to know that I’m here for you. If you need to talk about anything or just need a distraction, well, you can count on me to be compassionate and trustworthy.”

Riley smiled at her. “Thanks. I know you are. You’re a great friend, Kendall.”

She kept her mouth closed and turned around to get to work. Riley wasn’t about to let that go as he purposefully said her first name to tease her. “Wait, you’re not going to correct me?”

“No, I don’t think I will.” She was the only one that hadn’t hugged Riley after he told them what happened and she took the opportunity to do so. “But don’t tell the others. It’s a one time thing.”

“My lips are sealed,” he promised.


	21. Chapter 21

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The story is about to pick up. Buckle up, ladies and gents.

Riley was anxious; he was continuously fighting the urge to run out through the emergency exit door even with Chase sitting next to him on the bench. The desk sergeant would look up from his paperwork every few minutes to check them out, as though he was for some reason afraid that Riley was about to make a scene. They had barely been waiting ten minutes when the detective walked over towards them.

“Mr. Griffin? I’m Detective Hsu. Would you and your friend please follow me?”

They were led to a small conference room. A large oval table capable of seating fourteen people comfortably was about all the room could hold, which accounted for the lack of plants or artwork on the walls. They each took a seat as the detective opened up a file folder and began to sort through the paperwork, initialing things every few minutes. Once he had finished, he looked up at Riley.

“The prosecutor is running late because of an arraignment. He should be joining us shortly. In the meantime, I’ll ask you to read your statement and verify its accuracy. Once that’s finished, we’ll take you to do a lineup and ask you to identify the suspect in our custody.”

“Is he denying what happened?”

The detective shook his head. “He hasn’t said much to us. His father has retained an attorney and they’ve declined to make a statement until after the lineup. It’s a pretty common stalling tactic that allows the lawyer to have more time with his client. We’re pretty confident we caught the right guy based on the statement you made at the hospital.”

“He isn’t a stranger to me. We dated for a few months a few years ago.”

“Yes, we’re aware of your history. Once he’s identified, we’ll start the proceedings against him and he’ll likely be arraigned later tonight. If the judge grants bail, we can discuss obtaining a protective order, but I suggest we tackle those things when we reach them. Agreed?”

Riley nodded. “Yes. Thank you.”

“Here’s the paperwork I need you to review.” The detective slid the file folder over to Riley with the pen resting on top. Riley took the pen and started reading the statement that he gave at the hospital. It was accurate so he signed to that fact. 

“Great. Do you have any questions for me?”

“I don’t think so,” Riley said. He knew all that was left was to wait. The detective checked that Riley’s signature was in the right place and then he closed the folder and stood up. He took the folder and approached the door.

“Please stay here. We’ll get the lineup started shortly.”

Once they were alone, Chase turned to Riley. “Are you going to call Matt and tell him what happened?”

“I’ll call when we get back to your place.”

Chase could see that Riley’s wall was back up. He started to reach for his hand only to stop himself out of doubt. “I’m here for you, mate. You know that, right?”

“Yeah, of course I do. Thank you for coming with me. I could have asked one of the others but… I don't know. I guess you make me feel safe.’

“That’s a great compliment, baby raptor. You’re going to get through this.”

Riley was desperate to change the subject. He looked over at Chase, who seemed deep in thought. “Are you okay?”

Chase’s head cocked slightly to the side as he entertained the question. His hands began to fidget nervously in response. “What do you mean?”

“You’ve been kind of quiet since we left the museum. And this morning, you seemed kind of weird before we went to the skatepark. I mean, I’ve never seen you fidget before, but you’re doing it now. It makes me feel like you’re hiding something from me.”

Chase struggled to find the words. The door opened before he had a chance and Detective Hsu walked inside. An older man accompanied him. The second man’s skin reminded Riley of the perfect mixture of cream and black coffee. “This is Mr. Caldwell. He’s the ADA assigned to your case.”

“Nice to meet you, Mr. Griffin. Is this a friend of yours?”

Riley nodded. “Yes, this is my friend, Chase Randall. It’s nice to meet you, too.”

“We’re all set for the lineup, but I wanted to explain it to you before we got started. Mr. Caldwell and I will be there along with our suspect’s attorney. The suspects will walk in, each of them assigned a number, and we’ll need you to take a few moments to look at all of them. If you recognize the person that hurt you, we’ll ask that you identify his number. Once that happens, we can begin the process of charging him with battery.”

Chase took note of the prosecutor’s word choice. “You’re not going to charge him with domestic violence?”

Mr. Caldwell took a deep breath. “It would be next to impossible to get charges filed for domestic violence when Riley and the suspect…”

“His name is Aaron!” Riley interjected, growing annoyed at the purposeful avoidance of it. “Just… say his name.”

“Okay. Aaron and Riley are not in a current relationship and they haven’t been in a while. It will be more advantageous for us to seek battery charges because that will allow us to bring in Aaron’s past domestic abuse. I can understand how this may seem confusing, but we have a set of statutes that we have to follow. My job is to get the maximum sentence for the ones that I can successfully prosecute.”

“Will you offer him a plea deal?” Riley inquired. 

“It might be necessary to do that, but I won’t go through with it until we’ve discussed the pro’s and con’s and you’ve given me the go-ahead.”

“Thank you.”

“Are you ready?”

“Can Chase come with me?”

“Absolutely,” Detective Hsu replied. “Follow me.”

They were led to a small room, what some might consider an adequate walk-in closet. This room had a two-way mirror and a small intercom attached to the wall. The adjoining room was brightly lit and there were a series of horizontal lines along the length of the wall, each marking a specific height level. “Okay. They’ll be coming in shortly. Riley, this is Mrs. Denning. She’s Aaron’s attorney.”

She smiled at Riley and shook his hand. “I’m so sorry to meet you under these circumstances, Mr. Griffin.”

“Yeah,” he replied, his voice a whisper. Chase moved next to him and purposefully put himself between the defense attorney and Riley. The door inside the adjoining room opened and people began to walk inside. 

Riley started to feel his anxiety skyrocket with each person that entered that he didn’t recognize. He started to worry that they had made a mistake, that the guy they picked up wasn’t Aaron at all. Then he saw him. 

Aaron was ushered in between two guys at about his same height. He held a five by seven inch card with the number four neatly printed on it. Aaron looked disheveled, completely unlike the well-dressed guy that had appeared to Riley when he first showed up in the Dino Bite Cafe.

“Aaron is number four. He’s the one that attacked me. He hit me and kicked me and then he just took off in his car and left me alone.”

Mrs. Denning turned and whispered something to Mr. Caldwell. Riley wasn’t able to hear it, but they both excused themselves. The detective gave the order to end the lineup using the intercom. He turned to Chase and Riley once he had finished.

“Okay. The attorneys are discussing the charges that are going to be sought. They’ll bring Aaron for arraignment and that’s when the judge will decide on bail. I’d like for you to fill out a protective order request that we can give to the judge if he or she feels that bail is warranted. This order will insist that Aaron stay away from you.”

“I’ll fill out whatever I have to. I just hope he gets the help he needs and that I never have to see him again.”

“Well, I’m afraid that won’t be the case for a little while. You’ll be called to testify at his trial since there are no witnesses. It’ll be your word against his.”

“Are you saying that my chances aren't that good?”

The detective took a deep breath. “It will be a challenge, yes, but the DA can call your family members and teachers as witnesses - anyone that has knowledge of his abusive behavior. Just don’t give up, okay?”

“I won’t let him,” Chase promised.

“Alright. Let me show you that paper that I need you to fill out.”

He started to lead them back to the conference room but was stopped when both of the lawyers approached them. “As I told Mr. Caldwell, my client has made a request for a plea deal. He’s willing to plead guilty for the charges to be reduced to a misdemeanor. Aaron has stated that he won’t agree unless Riley agrees to sit with him for a few minutes so that he can apologize.”

“I don’t need him to apologize. I need him to leave me alone.”

All eyes were on Riley. He knew that each of them could understand where he was coming from, and that they would probably feel the exact same way. He also knew that it was going to be difficult to prosecute without any witnesses. “Okay, fine, I’ll do it.”

Chase led him to the side. “Riley, you don’t have to do this.”

“I just want this to be over. If he’s willing to take responsibility for what he did, don’t I have to give him the chance to do it?”

The detective cleared his throat. “We’ll be right outside the door. It’s your choice.”

Riley didn't want to take time thinking about it because he was afraid he’d too easily be able to talk himself out of doing it. “Let’s go.”


	22. Chapter 22

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> WARNING FOR POTENTIAL TRIGGERS - THE NEXT FEW CHAPTERS MAY CONTAIN THE FOLLOWING:
> 
> death threats, physical assault, sexual assault, emotional abuse, torture, self-harm, destructive behavior, underage drinking, suicide attempts, suicide, regression, explosive outburst of anger, random crying, attempted murder, murder, the plotting of murder, and the twisting and turning of reader's feels. Consider yourself warned.

Aaron looked pathetic when Riley walked in. His hands were under the table and he was seated in a metal chair, the kind that looked impossible to lift thanks to pound and pounds of sand weighing it down. Riley sat down at the table.

“Thank you for agreeing to come see me,” Aaron said.

“I did it to get this over with. You have five minutes to say what you need to say before I leave.”

Aaron smiled in a way that made Riley worry about the guy’s sanity. “I didn’t mean to hurt you, baby. I never did. You just always made me so angry and I…I couldn’t stop myself.”

“What, so it’s my fault?”

“No, that isn't what I meant. I’m the one that hurt you all those times and I deserve to be here. You know, my dad won’t even answer my call. He say’s I’m a disappointment.”

“Taking responsibility for what you’ve done is a good first step. That will show him that you’re aware that you need some professional help and that you’re going to get it.”

“Are you proud of me?”

Riley’s jaw tightened. He was suddenly aware that saying the wrong thing could put the whole plea deal in jeopardy and that it was possible that Aaron would get released anyway. Still, he could’t lie, especially when he knew that Aaron already knew what his answer would be. 

“Not really. This is your chance to improve your life. Either way, I want nothing else to do with you.”

Aaron’s eyes moved to the door. The same cocky expression that was so often on his face returned then, and when he turned back to Riley, it sent a chill down the latter’s spine. “Is he out there?”

“Who?”

“The Kiwi stud. You two seemed to be pretty cozy once I found his place.”

“We were watching a movie.”

“You were together in the same bed. I saw the way you were looking at each other - how happy you both seemed. It’s a shame that it’ll never work.”

“I’m not talking about my life with you anymore. I’m leaving now.”

Aaron lifted his hands so that they were on top of the table. There were no handcuffs on his wrists and he seemed to be gloating that even the police didn’t consider him enough of a threat to keep him in handcuffs. “I still have a couple of minutes with you, unless you’d rather put your fate in the hands of a jury. I’m sorry. I mean _my_ fate, of course.”

Thinking about Chase, Riley had a sudden question pop into his head. “How did you even find Chase’s apartment? Did you follow us there?”

Aaron laughed. “I was at a bar getting a drink when a pretty girl started hitting on me. I told her she was barking up the wrong tree and we became instant pals. She took me back to her table with three of her closest friends and we started talking about our problems. Imagine my surprise when I blurt out the name of your not so secret crush and three of the four girls know exactly who I’m talking about!”

“Chase has gone on quite a few dates. That isn’t news to me.”

“Really? Is it news to you that all three of them were invited back to Chase’s apartment. They all gave me directions, baby. That guy you’re crushing on is a total player. Is that why you like him?”

Riley had to bite his tongue to keep himself from going off. “What do you mean?”

“Well, you were with me and I hit you. You’re into Chase, but he’s too busy giving it away to every woman that walks by only for him to dump them the next day. Could it be that you just like guys that treat you like dirt?”

“Shut up.”

“Don’t be angry, baby. I’m about to go to jail for a long time. I’m going to need some good memories to keep me company on those lonely nights.”

Riley was surprised when Aaron jumped up onto the table. He hadn’t been restrained at all, much to Riley’s concern. Aaron slid on the table and he swung, his fist hitting Riley’s face. Riley was knocked out of his chair and pushed to the ground. Aaron jumped off the table and ran to the door in order to lock it before anyone on the outside even knew that something was wrong.

He smiled at the security camera before walking back to Riley. He knelt on the floor and pulled Riley to him, planting a kiss on his lips while taking advantage of Riley’s confused state. He punched him in the ribs a couple of times and the pain caused Riley to double over. Aaron licked his lips while he watched his ex.

“I don’t know whether to beat the hell out of you or make you my bitch. Either way, I’m going to make you pay for doing this to me.”

Riley started to call for help, but he was cut off by a hand tightening around his throat. At this point it was almost Aaron’s signature move, and Riley was getting tired of getting hit without giving some back. He punched at the side of Aaron’s head and landed another punch on his sternum, but Aaron wasn’t fazed. He laughed at Riley’s weak attempt before he stood, pulled Riley to his feet, and tossed him onto the table like a rag doll.

He ripped open Riley’s shirt and had his hands began unbuttoning Riley’s jeans. “No! Stop!” Riley yelled to him, his hands trembling with fear.

Riley couldn’t fight Aaron, who was stronger and intent on getting what it was he wanted. 

Riley shut down and was in the process of accepting what was about to happen. His hand sought the only comfort it could find and he clutched his energem, thinking only of Chase and how he would never be able to look his friend in the eye.

When he looked at the energem he was holding, as he was oblivious to Aaron’s hands moving up and down his torso, it was a vibrant green again, pulsing with energy. It looked the same green that Riley remembered, except it now had a prominent thread of black coiled through it.

* * *

Chase had a bad feeling.

Something in his gut told him that something was the matter. The detective and attorneys were discussing things as Chase sat with his eyes on the door. He didn’t know how, but he could sense that Riley needed him. He stood up and raised his hand to the doorknob once he reached it. He turned it but he was met with resistance by the locking mechanism.

He turned to Detective Hsu. “You need to open the door.”

At that moment, a computer technician ran towards them. “The prisoner wasn’t restrained. You need to get in there now!”

The detective began to search for a key to the door. “Just kick the door down,” Mr. Caldwell said.

“We can’t. The doorframe is reinforced to prevent an escape. The key is here somewhere.”

Chase knew that Riley needed him now and that he couldn’t wait. His hand found the energem inside his shirt and he was surprised by the spiral of green now visible in his energem. Knowing that his friend needed him, he called upon all of his strength and ran full strength into the door. It was propelled off of its hinges and it bounced a couple of times as it slid along the concrete floor.

Chase could see Riley on the table, his gaze absent. Aaron’s hands were working on the waistband of Riley’s underwear. All of his pride over gaining entry fell away when he saw what it was that Aaron was doing to Riley. His Riley. Chase didn’t waste time. He walked over to Aaron and punched him so hard that he fall backwards into the two-way mirror. The glass shattered on top of him as he crumbled to the floor, unconscious but still alive.

Chase ran over to Riley as Detective Hsu and the attorneys entered the room. He picked Riley up off of the table and carried him away. A uniformed officer directed Chase to take Riley into the conference room. That same officer brought a blanket and handed it to Chase. She closed the door and left them alone to wait for the detective.

Chase wrapped the blanket around Riley, who seemed to be coming out of daze he was in. His eyes settled on Chase’s energem. “Your energem…”

Chase nodded. He was as equally confused about what it meant, but when his eyes fell on Riley’s energem and saw it looked similar to his own, things started to make more sense. “Your’s too.”

“Why is this happening to me?”

Chase didn’t need to take a minute to organize his thoughts or words because he said the first thing that came to mind. “So that I can show you how much I care about you.”

He pulled Riley close and kissed him on the top of his head. He wrapped his arms around his friend, the guy he liked, and wished that his energem could make all of Riley’s fear and pain drift away.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That was my interpretation of what you asked for. How did I do?  
> Do you think Riley is going to partially blame Chase and his dating ways for Aaron being able to find them?


	23. Chapter 23

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Riley is about to get the support he needs. The question is whether or not he'll accept it.

Detective Hsu insisted that Riley go to the hospital to get himself checked out by a physician. Chase went with him and after Riley gave his permission, he called Kendall and asked her to come to the hospital without telling the others anything. They had to wait a little over a half an hour because a couple of car accidents took priority.

Once they were brought back, a nurse asked Riley to change into a hospital gown. Chase hadn’t seen Riley without his shirt off, and it was only now that he began to see all of the partially healed bruises that Aaron’s first assault had caused. There were also fresh ones forming, and Riley winced as he struggled to stand up straight.

Chase walked over to Riley and helped him, making sure that he was careful to not injure him further. “Do you want me to leave when the doctor comes in?” Chase asked. “I don't mind if you want some privacy.”

Riley shook his head and tears began to well up in his eyes, as though the thought of him being alone terrified him. “Stay. Please?”

“Of course, Riley. I’ll stay with you.”

“I must look twice as pathetic to you now. First, my ex-boyfriend beat the crap out of me. Then, he tried to rape me. He would have if you hadn’t come to my rescue.”

“Let’s not think about that right now, huh? Let’s focus on the fact that you’re here and you’re safe. After what happened, Aaron will be going to jail for a long time.”

Riley’s hands came to rest in his lap. “Do you think so?”

“Absolutely. I heard Detective Hsu talking to the lawyers and he said that they got the whole thing on tape.”

“I don’t want him to go to jail,” Riley revealed. His tone was even, almost too even, and it made the hair on the back of Chase’s neck stand up. “I want to kill him.”

The nurse stepped into the room before Chase could respond. She took his blood pressure and started his paperwork. It was a nurse that neither of them had seen in their limited time at the hospital, and Riley was glad he didn’t have to see anyone that he knew. He was ashamed that he almost let Aaron rape him and that he didn’t do anything to stop it. He was ashamed for anyone to look at him because he thought they could see just how pathetic he was.

“I’ll grab a doctor and get them in here as soon as one is free. You two just sit tight and press the call button if you need anything.”

“Thank you,” Chase said.

She wasn’t even gone a minute before someone else entered the room. It was Detective Hsu, and he had Kendall with him. She walked to Riley and hugged him, sensing that something terrible had happened. Chase found himself wondering if the detective had filled her in, but that question dissipated when she released Riley and asked what had happened.

The detective cleared his throat before anyone could start. “Excuse me. I just wanted to let you all know that our prosecutor is adding additional charges after what happened. Riley, I’m so very sorry that he wasn’t restrained properly. I can’t help but feel responsible for this.”

“No, it wasn’t your fault,” Riley replied.

“Either way, you have my word that he won’t get out of jail for a long, long time. I’ll leave you alone now, but please call me in a couple of days and I’ll give you an update. Be well.”

The three of them watched him leave. Kendall grew more concerned with neither Riley or Chase began to explain what had occured. “Guys, please tell me what happened.”

“Aaron asked to see me. We thought if I saw him then he would plead guilty, so I went into the room alone. Aaron and I talked for a few minutes before I realized he wasn’t handcuffed or restrained, and by the time I did, it was already too late.”

“What does that mean?”

“Aaron attacked Riley and then he locked them both in the room.”

“He…uh, he was going to rape me. He was taking off my clothes and I just kind of shut down. I couldn’t fight him off. I guess I accepted it.”

“I was outside the door and I sensed that something was wrong. I had this urge to grab my energem and when I did, I knew that I had to get to Riley. I broke down the door and knocked Aaron out.”

“What do you mean? Why did your mention your energem?”

Chase pulled his energem out from his shirt and he showed it to Kendall. Her eyes widened when she saw the familiar black hue encircled by a thread of green. Kendall turned to Riley, who opened his hand and revealed his own energem. It was the same, except its predominant color was green with a coil of black. 

“What does it mean?” Riley asked.

Kendall folded her arms across her chest. “I wish I could tell you. We’ll have to ask Keeper to explain, though I’m not sure he’ll have any answers either. Have either of you tried to morph?”

“It didn’t seem like a good idea with so many people around. I’ll try later once we get Riley settled.”

Kendall approached Riley. “Riley, I’m so sorry this happened to you. I hope you realize that none of this has been your fault. All the blame rests on Aaron and he’s going to get what he deserves, one way or another.”

Her words made Riley smile. “Are you and Shelby going to scare the living daylights out of him.”

She smiled at him, though it was weak and lacked the oomph she wished it did. “I’m tempted. Riley, we’re the good guys for a reason. To behave like that would be a misuse of the gifts that the energems provide us.”

“I guess you’re right. Just don’t hold it against me if that’s what I dream about for the next few months.”

“Do you want me to call the others? I know they’d want to be here with you, Riley. I think it was a mistake to not tell them so soon last time.”

Riley nodded slowly. On one hand, he knew that he wanted to be alone and didn’t want to be seen by anyone, but he also realized that those feelings were natural after what he went through. On the other hand, he was aware of how caring his friends had been towards him when they first learned about Aaron and their history, and it seemed like a disservice to their friendship if he kept hiding things from them.

“Yeah, we should call them.”

“Riley, are you sure? They’ll understand if you’re not ready.”

“I just want to get it over with. Besides, I know I would want to be there for any of them, for either of you.”

“I’ll step outside and ask them to come in an hour. I assume the doctor hasn't had a chance to look at you?”

“Not yet.”

“Then that will give the staff time to do an exam and send you for any tests. I’ll tell them that you’ll explain what happened when they get here.”

Riley nodded. It sounded as good a plan as any. He began dreading having to call his mom and Matt, and he turned to Chase. “Chase, would you do me a favor?”

“Anything.” 

“W-would you call Matt and tell him what happened? Make sure he knows that I’m okay and that he doesn't have to drive here again.”

“I’ll tell him, but I won’t try to talk him out of coming back to town if that’s what he wants to do. It might be good for your mom to see you too.”

Riley raised an eyebrow. “You’re suggesting I go back home?”

“I’m just suggesting that it might be nice for you to spend some time with your family. It’s your decision and we’ll all support you one-hundred percent.”

“Chase is right. It might do you good to get away from all this for a week or two.”

“I’ll think about it,” he promised. He wasn’t decided either way.

“Then I’ll call Matt and explain what happened. Do you have your phone?”

Riley nodded and pointed to the stack of his clothes on a chair. “It’s in one of my pockets.”

Chase found the phone and then he excused himself. Kendall volunteered to stay with Riley until Chase returned so that someone could be with him at all times. She didn’t know when it happened, but somewhere over the last few months she had started to look at Riley as a younger brother. She wanted nothing more than for him to be safe and know how loved he is.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Should Riley go home for a few weeks, or do you think he should stay in Angel Beach? I'm curious to know which you think would be more healing for Riley. Please leave a comment and let me know.


	24. Chapter 24

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Well hello there, readers. I'm here to provide you with some more entertainment (well, I hope its entertaining). I could use this space to spoil what's to come, but I think I'll just let you read it for yourself and see. :)

Chase’s phone call went about as well as he expected it to. Matt promised to call back on Riley’s phone as soon as he got into town. Chase had the unfortunate pleasure of telling Riley what was about to happen and he could see his friend’s fears on his face as easily as he could read any sentence in a book.

“It might be nice for you to be home and able to relax,” Chase said, hoping that was the case. “It could be good for you to have some distance between you and Aaron.”

“I’ll be there all alone.”

“Your mum and your brother are going to be there. I’ll call you every night if you want. We can talk until we fall asleep.”

Riley glared at the injection site where the IV was pumping fluids into his vein. He didn’t think he needed it, but the doctor had ordered it before he even started an examination. He supposed that it couldn’t do any harm aside from the small amount of pain it was causing him. 

“Can’t you come with me?”

Chase sighed. He wanted nothing more than for that to happen, but he didn’t want to intrude on Riley’s time with his family. He knew that his friend was going to need their support first and foremost, and he was afraid that they blamed him for not protecting Riley as he said he would. He didn’t even know how he was going to look Matt in the eyes.

Kendall returned then, and she still had her phone in her hand. “I called Shelby and told her what happened. She’s gathering the rest of the team and they’re going to head over in a little while.”

Riley avoided looking at both of them. To him, Chase’s silence spoke volumes. It was clear that his friend no longer wanted the responsibility of keeping an eye on him. To be fair, Riley could’t blame him. He’d gotten hurt and he was sure that Chase was erroneously blaming himself.

Kendall turned to Chase. “Did I interrupt something?”

“Riley’s brother is heading up to take him back home. I told Riley that I think it might be good for him to get away for a little while and be with his family.”

Kendall seemed to understand. “I know we already talked about this, Riley, but think about how your family feels. You know your mother will be worried sick when she finds out. After what happened last time, I doubt she’ll be able to relax until she sees you and can see for herself that you’re safe.”

“What about the internship?”

“You already have the spot. I’m in charge of the program and we’ll be able to manage until you get back.”

“What about Snide? What if he and his goons attack while I’m stuck back home?”

“We’ll handle it the best we can,” Kendall promised. “I’ll leave the decision up to you. Okay?”

Riley nodded. He groaned when he moved his arm and the IV caused him more pain. He reached over and pulled it out in a quick motion, glaring at the needle like it was a living, breathing organism intent on making him suffer. “Fine,” he said quickly. “I’ll go home for a couple of weeks. Alone.”

Chase walked over to him and he grabbed his arm. He used the bedding to apply pressure to the puncture site in order to help stop the bleeding. “Why did you do that?”

“I’m fine. It’ll stop in a few seconds as soon as my blood starts to coagulate.”

“You’ve been through a lot the last week or so, Riley, but that doesn’t give you permission to hurt yourself.”

“I—I wasn’t trying to hurt myself. The IV was hurting me and I just yanked it out without thinking.”

“Yanked?” Chase asked, needing clarification. 

“He means that he pulled it out,” Kendall translated.

“Riley, promise me you’ll be careful. You’re already hurt and you have bruises that are ten different shades of blue and purple; your energem still doesn’t seem to be helping you heal.”

“Okay. I promise.”

Chase released his arm and walked slowly to the chair on the other side of Riley. He sat down and exhaled. It was then that Riley was able to see how tired he was. He felt foolish for worrying his friend, especially when it was so easy to forget that Chase had been going through everything with him the last week. Riley had forgotten for a moment that the world didn’t revolve around him and it took Chase to help him realize it.

“I’m really sorry. Thank you for everything you’ve done for me, Chase. You too, Miss Morgan.”

“I would be in tears if I had gone through half of what you’ve had to endure over the last few days, Riley. It’s going to take you time to recover and it’s important that you give yourself that time. We’ll all be here when you’re ready to come back.”

That was the thing that was worrying Chase the most. He hadn’t realized it before Kendall used those specific words, and he didn’t understand why he was being such an idiot. He was sad that Riley was going to be leaving for a while, but that wasn’t the thing that Chase was most afraid of. He was afraid that Riley was going to leave and never come back. To him.

He turned and found that Riley was watching him. He wondered if Riley could see right through him and was scared for half a second that his friend knew what he was thinking. It wasn’t that he was ashamed to have feelings for Riley, but him knowing how he felt still made him cower inside, as though the only possible outcome was rejection and eternal unhappiness.


	25. Chapter 25

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is really short. Just think of it as a tease for the chapter to come.

Riley had only been back home a day and a half and his friends were already blowing his phone up with texts checking up on him. He responded to each one and thanked them for thinking of him. Their goodbyes had been full of emotions and the whole thing involved lots of hugging, and Riley was both surprised and amazed at how tight knit they all seemed to be after only knowing each other for such a short time. Kendall promised he could return whenever he was up to it, whether that was a few days, weeks, or months. 

Riley’s mother insisted on making him and his brother breakfast as she always did when he lived there, and he couldn’t deny that it was nice to be with his family. He could taste the tiniest bit of salt in his oatmeal because his mother knew that was how he liked it. It was strange to Riley, but he felt like he could completely be himself there.

It felt different with his friends back in Angel Beach. Even though all of his secrets had been revealed, he couldn’t help but feel self-conscious with every word choice. It still felt weird to comment on how cute Chase was, especially around Tyler or Koda, and he wasn’t sure if that feeling would ever go away. He hoped that it would.

Matt looked up from his bowl of cereal. “It’s good to have you back home, Riley.”

“Thanks. It’s nice to be home.”

“Do you feel up to helping me feed some of the animals? It’s alright if you don’t think you’re ready yet, but it’d sure help out. I have to drive into town and get some supplies and mom wants to stop by the store to get some groceries.”

Riley nodded. “Yeah, I think I can manage. It might feel good to get back into the swing of things.”

Riley’s mother smiled. She took Riley’s positive attitude as a good sign, and it made her feel more comfortable about leaving her son alone for the few hours it would take to do the shopping. “Have you heard from any of your friends?”

“You bet. They’ve been sending me text messages all morning to see how I’m doing. Well, except for Koda. He doesn’t really like modern technology all that much, but he’s getting better.”

“I see. Well, I hope you’ll take it easy today. Tell me what you want for dinner and I’ll add it to my shopping list.”

“Mom, I can cook for myself. You don’t have to go to all the trouble.”

“Nonsense. I’m your mother and I enjoy cooking for both of my sons. Your father said my cooking was my best quality. I never knew if I should feel admired or offended.” She added a laugh at the end to show that she still hadn’t made a decision on where she stood in the matter.

“Okay. Something simple will be…”

“He wants spaghetti and meatballs,” Matt interrupted.

The more that Riley thought about it, the more it sounded good. “How do you know I wasn’t going to say something else?”

Matt smirked from across the table. “You’re a creature of habit, Riley. It was either spaghetti with meatballs or baked chicken with a baked potato. I stuck with my gut.”

“Spaghetti it is. I have to admit, I kind of missed making it for you, Riley.”

“I missed your cooking almost as much as I missed you,” Riley replied.


	26. Chapter 26

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Warning: This chapter might require you to seek medical attention. Symptoms reported include: heart palpitations, dizziness, feelings of hyperthermia, and an attack of the feels.

Riley was on his last task for the day. He had fed the horses and the pigs, and now he was working on getting the chicken feed into the coop. He heard the sound of a vehicle roll up but he didn’t think anything of it. He emptied the feed bag and then walked towards the barn to dump it in the oversized trash can. He froze when he saw someone walking towards him.

The figure was carrying a bag. He was dressed in jeans and a gray t-shirt with a black button up shirt over that, the tails of the open shirt flapping gently as the breeze caught it while he moved closer. He had a black baseball cap on his head and it was turned around backwards. Riley felt his excitement build as he realized that it was Chase.

“Chase?” What are you doing here?”

“Sorry to just drop in. It’s probably as rude here as it is back home, but I had to see you.”

Riley scratched a spot on his head as he began to remember the text messages. “You texted me a couple of hours ago. Why didn’t you tell me that you were coming?”

“I was afraid you’d tell me that you were okay and that you’d tell me to turn around and go back to Angel Beach. I mean, I can if that’s what you want.”

“No. I want you to stay.”

“Great, mate.”

“How did you convince Kendall to give you the time off?”

Chase suddenly became nervous. “Uh, let’s just say that we discussed some things and we both reached the same conclusion about me coming to see you.”

Riley was confused by the enigma that that sentence seemed to present, but he wasn’t about to question his friend like a criminal. “My mom will be glad to meet you. She might flirt a little bit, but it’s all in fun. Don’t get any ideas, okay? There’s no way I’ll ever be calling you ‘daddy.’”

“You never know,” Chase replied. He winked and Riley felt his heart skip a beat.

“Uh, let me grab your suitcase. I’ll take it up to my room.”

“Nah.”

Riley froze. He felt stupid for being so assumptive. “Unless you’d rather stay in the guest bedroom. You’d have more space.”

Chase bit his lower lip. “No, I’d love to stay in your room with you. I just meant that I can carry my own suitcase. How are the ribs doing?”

Riley shrugged his shoulders and held his hand out flat, palm down. He rocked it side to side to signal that his ribs were so-so. “I’m still waiting for my energem to pick up some of the slack.”

Chase opened his mouth to say something but he seemed to forget the words. He closed his mouth and followed Riley to the house. Chase thought it looked like the type of house you would see in magazines. Everything seemed to have its place and a purpose for being there. “Home sweet home,” Riley joked. 

He began to climb the stairs and he could hear that Chase was following him. Riley started the tour. “This is Matt’s bedroom. My mom’s is that door at the end of the hall.”

“This place is huge.”

Riley laughed. “We’re Americans. We like to have a lot of space.”

“No kidding.”

“This is my room.” Riley led him inside. Chase stayed quiet and he took it all in. The room seemed so Riley, from the science posters hanging on the wall, to the chemistry and physics books on the bookshelf, and even to the microscope and the variety of leaves pinned to a bulletin board. 

“The bathroom is the door on the left. My closet is the door on the right. I’ll put your suitcase in there for now, okay?”

“Sure.”

Riley did what he said was going to do. He closed the door and turned back to his friend. He underestimated how much he had missed him in only a couple of days, and he was so happy to see his friend standing there.

“My chores are done for the day. Matt and my mom have me on light work duty so that I can heal, but they know me well enough to give me a couple of tasks so that I don’t try to do everything.”

“That’s good. They’re just trying to look out for you.”

Riley knew that Chase was right. “Uh, I only have the one bed. It’s big enough for both of us…”

Chase smiled. “I had a hard time going to sleep the last couple of nights. I really missed you.”

“You did?”

“Of course. I liked having you stay at my apartment.”

Riley couldn’t hold back his own smile. “I liked staying there with you. Now it’s my turn to show you some hospitality. Are you hungry? I can make you something.”

“You can cook?”

Riley nodded. “I’m a novice, but I can make the basics. I told you that I burned those burgers because I hadn’t used a flat top grill before. Besides, I’m getting better.”

“Thanks, but I’m alright. I ate when the plane landed.”

Riley was suddenly self-conscious as Chase stared at him. He thought he was imagining things when he noticed how Chase’s eyes lowered and focused on his lips. Chase cleared his throat when he realized he was putting on a show. “So, when do I get to meet this famous dog of yours?”

An idea popped into Riley’s head. “He likes to go into the pasture and sleep on a hill that gets sunlight. Are you up for a walk?”

Chase clapped his hands once to signal that he was. “I’m game if you are.”

“Right this way, sir.”

The pair of them exited the house and walked around the barn. They were both quiet as they moved, partly because they were unsure what to say, and partly because nothing needed to be said between them. Riley moved slowly once they got to the hill and Chase stayed by his side. Rubik looked up when he heard them coming.

He barked once and then began wagging his tail as he continued to stay on his back, the sun beating down on him. They approached Rubik and both of them began rubbing his belly, each of them feeling a spark every time their hands accidentally touched. Finally, Chase moved his hand and rested it on top of Riley’s.

He looked over at his friend, confusion painted all over his face. 

Chase leaned in. “I’m going to kiss you.”

“Why?”

“Because I haven’t been able to stop thinking about it since I showed up.”

“Alright. If you’re sure.”

Chase nodded. “I’m sure.” He pressed their lips together as their heads were tilted slightly at opposite angles. Riley felt his knees go weak and he started to fall. Chase grabbed him gently to catch him and managed to do so, but he lost his own balance in the process and they fell into the grass next to Rubik, who didn’t seem to mind.

They both laughed and moved together to resume kissing. Neither wanted to stop and discuss what kissing meant and whether it was even a good decision. Both of them felt that they needed it and were amazed at how perfectly natural it felt.

When they far surpassed the point of butterflies in their stomach and feelings of dizziness from reduced oxygen levels, they separated and turned onto their backs. The sun showered them with light too.

Chase moved his hand and lowered it to Riley’s, their fingers interlocking. “I guess there’s something I’ve been meaning to tell you.”

Riley chuckled. “It seems that way.”

“I have feelings for you, Riley. I feel like we share a connection. It’s something that I’ve never experienced before, with any guy, and I really want to see what this means. For me. For us.”

Riley tried to act nonchalant, but he was as giddy as could be on the inside. “We should probably take things slow.”

“Really? I was hoping to be engaged before we went back to Amber Beach.”

Riley scoffed at the idea even though he was aware that it was a joke. “You probably shouldn’t say things like that around my mom or Matt. You’d give them a heart attack.”

Chase tapped his thumb against Riley’s. “Rubik seems to have taken it pretty well. Does this mean he approves?”

“Oh, I raised him to approve of all stable adult relationships. Besides, you gave him a belly rub, so now he loves you for life.”

Chase turned his head to Riley and he raised his left hand and let it hover over Riley’s stomach. “Is that the secret? Is that a dog thing or something that works on any guy?”

“Try it and find out.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It might seem a little like Riley and Chase suddenly rushed into things. That was intentional.


	27. Chapter 27

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This is the last chapter I'll be uploading tonight. The truth is that I haven't written any more after this and will have to get to it to keep you all from sending me messages with GIFs of flaming torches and pitchforks.

The sound of a horn honking stirred both of them from their state of relaxation. Riley sat up quickly when he realized that the horn meant that Matt and Riley’s mother were back from their shopping trip. “We have to go.”

Riley stands up quickly after he releases Chase’s hand. The hand that he had been holding for a length of time that he couldn’t specify. He helped Chase to his feet and he kissed him chastely on his lips before leading his friend back to the driveway. “You too, Rubik,” Riley added. The dog sprinted up and caught up to them, his tail wagging the entire way back.

Matt was handing his mother a couple of bags of groceries from the back of the truck when Riley, Chase, and Rubik got close enough to speak. Ms. Griffin was the first of the pair to notice Chase, and she smiled as though she already knew he was going to be there.

“Mom, this is Chase. He’s a friend from the museum. He was elected by the others to come and keep me company.”

Ms. Griffin giggled. It reminded Riley of something that the girls used to do on the playground whenever a boy would say something to them. In fact, Riley figured that he had probably done his fair share of that. “You have generous friends, Riley.”

Chase smiled at the obvious innuendo. Riley blushed and walked to her. He grabbed the bags from her arms and turned to head towards the house. “He’s staying in my room,” he revealed, before entering through the doorway.

Matt closed the tailgate and turned to Chase. They shook hands awkwardly. “How is he?” Matt finally asked.

“Riley? He’s in some pain but he doesn’t let it slow him down.”

Matt nodded as he adjusted the hat on his head. “That’s what we figured. He’s been kind of quiet since he got back. Hopefully he’ll be able to relax more with you around here. And we can always use the extra help.”

Ms. Griffin patted Chase on the forearm. “Don’t you listen to him. You can stay in the house with me and help me cook for the boys.”

Matt rolled his eyes. “Don’t listen to a word she says, Chase. She’s a notorious flirt around these parts and it’s all just a little harmless fun to help her pass the time between motherhood and spinsterhood.”

Riley’s mother groaned. “I thought we agreed that you’d never use that word again.”

“Spinster? I didn’t. I said ‘spinsterhood.’”

“It’s close enough. I hope I remember not to put pine nuts in the spaghetti.”

Matt laughed at his mother. “Who puts pine nuts in spaghetti? If you want to kill me by using my kryptonite against me, fine, but the police are going to know it isn’t accidental.”

Ms. Griffin sighed. “I guess it would be pretty idiotic to kill off the guy that does all the hard work around here.”

Chase turned when he heard Riley coming back towards them. He couldn’t help but stare and he didn’t care if anyone else noticed it. Chase knew that Riley needed time to heal, both physically and psychologically, and he wasn’t about to force something too quickly on Riley. But in that moment, he couldn’t help but imagine what it would be like to have their bodies pressed up against each other.

“Are you guys coming into the house? The groceries aren’t going to unpack themselves.”

Matt pointed at his younger brother. It wasn’t an offensive gesture and Riley didn’t take it as such. “I drove to town and back and shopped at the hardware store.”

“Should I ask mom to put a gold star on the calendar like she did when we were kids?”

“Okay, but you don’t know the whole story. I finished my stuff early so then I went to meet mom, only she wasn’t ready to go. So, I went into the store to find her and I got roped into doing half of the grocery shopping too.”

Riley tapped his foot on the ground. “Fine. Chase and I will put away the groceries.”

“Great,” Matt said, obviously in favor of Riley’s plan. “There are more bags in the cab.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I thought it would be funny for Ms. Griffin to find Chase as cute as everyone else does. It's just harmless flirting, of course, but it sets up a bit of humor here and there. I thought this chapter was a little funny. I hope it came across that way to all of you.


	28. Chapter 28

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Things are about to take an interesting turn.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am so very sorry for taking so long. I reached a point where I couldn't write anything and had no desire to do so. I'm sure I could have forced myself but I think the story would have suffered. I'm back now and I'm not going to make you wait more than a day or two for the next update. 
> 
> Hang in there! Things are about to get interesting.

Riley ended the call on his cell phone and placed the device on the table. Chase and his mother were both in the room and he could tell that they were trying not to pry even though they had heard his part of the conversation. He didn’t need the reminder that the mess with Aaron wasn’t behind him yet, but the phone call served as exactly that.

“That was the detective back in Amber Beach. Aaron’s been remanded into custody and they’ve had to put him under a suicide watch because he tried to hang himself with a blanket.”

“Do they have a date for the trial yet?”

Riley shook his head. “He has to call me back with the details. They’re still looking at the calendar, but the defense attorney is pushing for one as quickly as possible. The detective has been told by the district attorney that Aaron’s lawyer has already left three messages to try to get a meeting for a plea bargain.”

“Will they do it?” Riley’s mother asked.

“I don’t know. Maybe, if they don’t think they’d be able to convict him. I just want to forget about it.”

Chase watched him carefully. He could see the signs of Riley’s anxiety increasing and the way he began fidgeting made him worry that he was on the verge of having a panic attack. “Why don’t you sit with me, baby raptor? You can help me with my balls. Er…meatballs, I mean.”

Riley laughed as Chase’s face turned scarlet. His mother quickly joined in, and before long there was a trio of laughing voices. Once the fit of laughter had passed, Ms. Griffin returned her attention to the sauce that she was preparing in a large stockpot on the stove. She put the lid on once she was content with the seasoning and turned the heat down to allow it to simmer. 

She turned back and watched them quietly for a moment. “Chase, what did you just call my son?”

Chase looked up from the mixture of bread crumbs, italian seasoning, and ground meat piled in the oversized bowl in front of him. “‘Baby raptor.’ It’s kind of my nickname for him.”

“I see. Do you have one for Chase, Riley?”

“I call him ‘hotshot.’ It’s kind of an inside joke.”

“I’d love to hear the story.”

Riley and Chase shared a glance. They both knew that they couldn’t tell the full story because that would involve revealing the fact that they were Power Rangers, but it seemed wrong to keep her in the dark. Chase was the first to come up with the idea to stretch the truth a little bit.

“When Riley first showed up at the museum, he was fascinated by a group of baby raptor bones that were recovered from a dig. Since he’s the youngest of our group, the name just stuck.”

Riley nodded, playing along. “Right. And Chase is always doing tricks on his skateboard and showing off, so I came up with his nickname. We all have nicknames for each other.”

Ms. Griffin smiled genuinely. “I’m glad that the internship has been a positive experience for you, Riley. I was concerned with you being away from home, but I’m happy to know that you’ve made such close friendships.”

Riley couldn’t disagree. “Yeah, we’re all pretty close. It’s only been a couple of days and I even miss the smell of grease from the cafe.”

Chase groaned. “Speak for yourself, mate.”

Ms. Griffin smiled at her son. She could see the difference in him since Chase arrived and she was glad that he had people looking out for him when he wasn’t home. “Why don’t you two get out of here for a while? I can finish up dinner.”

Riley turned to his mom. “We don't mind helping.”

She shook her head. “Why don’t you boys take Rubik for a walk? He’s been aching to go into the forrest; he’s been afraid to go by himself ever since you left.”

Riley remembered that Matt had mentioned the same thing in one of his emails. He couldn’t blame his dog for being scared of the forest after the pair of them were attacked by Fury. He couldn’t deny that he was aching to spend more time alone with Chase, and going into the forest was one of the things that made him feel the most relaxed when he was a kid.

“Alright. But Chase and I are doing the dishes tonight.”

“Fair enough. You two have a good time.”

They took turns washing their hands in the sink before they walked out through the side door. Rubik was sleeping on the concrete patio and he perked up as soon as they approached him. Riley kneeled down and ran both hands through his fur. “Hey, boy. Want to go for a walk through the forest with us?”

The dog whimpered before standing and running a few feet ahead of them. 

“Your mum knows. Do you think she knows?”

“About us making out? Only if we keep talking about it where she can overhear us.”

Chase frowned. He kept pace with Riley. He was quiet and his friend noticed.

“D-do you regret what happened?”

Chase felt horrible for giving Riley that impression. “No way! I’m just thinking about what I’m going to tell my mum and Chloe. And we’ll have to tell the team once we get back. I just don’t know if I’m ready for that.”

Riley remembered what that fear felt like. In fact, he had more than enough memories of crying himself to sleep before he came out to his mother and brother. He hated that Chase had to experience that now. “Just take your time with it. I mean, we kissed and all, but that doesn't mean we’re going steady. It’s not like you have to declare a label twenty-four hours after kissing another guy. Most people take years and even then, things change.”

“I guess so.”

“We should slow things down. If all of this is confusing you and making things worse…”

Chase grabbed Riley’s hand and interlocked their fingers. “I don't want what’s happening between us to stop. I know that my feelings for you are real and I’m not afraid of them. I’m not scared because this means I’m not straight, okay? I’m just dealing with the part where other people are allowed to react.”

They walked into the forest and Rubik slowed so that he was close to them. He was sniffing the air and he would jog ahead a few steps and then stop and wait for Chase and Riley to catch up to him. 

“Is there anything I can do to help?”

“I could probably think of something.”

Riley looked into his eyes. “Yeah? Name it.”

“How about we start with a kiss? Assuming that Rubik won’t get jealous.”

“He’ll live,” Riley promised, before leaning into Chase, their lips moving together like magnets. Caught up in the moment, the two of them leaned against the closest tree as Chase’s tongue began to explore Riley’s mouth. 

A bark from Rubik caused them to separate. They were thankful to see that they were still alone. When Chase turned back to Riley, he saw that the energem around his neck was glowing.

“Your…” he began.

“Energem.”

They both grabbed the other’s energem and a stream of electricity passed through them. It took a couple of seconds for Riley to form a coherent thought. A dozen questions came to mind but he was too distracted by the way Chase was looking at him. Riley had never experienced a perfect moment before. Time seemed to stop and nothing mattered except for the lips that were against his own. 

It was like a sudden hunger had overcome them and nothing else was significant enough to register. They found themselves on the ground moments later and Chase couldn’t remember if they had fallen or if one of them had led the other there. One look at the eyes staring back at him made him forget all about it.

Riley’s hands were helping him remove his shirt. A second later and their knuckles were rubbing together as they both worked to unbutton and unzip their jeans. 

“Are you sure?” Riley asked.

“Yes,” Chase replied. “You?”

Riley nodded as his eyes lowered and took in the naked body in front of him. “You’re beautiful.”

Chase laughed. He knew he had a nice body because he had worked to make it that way. In his mind, his body paled in comparison to the physique that was in front of him. His hands cupped Riley’s waist and he kissed him on the neck. “You’re incredible.”

Riley laughed at the way Chase’s tongue tickled. His hand slid over his abdomen and came to rest there when a thought came to mind. “Do you have any questions?”

Chase lifted his head and he gave Riley a chaste kiss on the lips. “I think I have a general idea of how this is going to go.”

“Then don’t make me wait,” Riley said.

“I don’t have a condom,” Chase realized. He started to back away when Riley pulled him closer. He removed his hand from Chase’s shoulder and slid it into the pocket of his jeans. He pulled out a condom.

“Seriously? Was seducing me part of your plan?” 

Riley shrugged. “Let’s just say that, like all good scientists, I prefer to plan for any contingency.”

“Put it on me.”

Riley didn’t need a second invitation. He opened the wrapper with his hands and then tilted his head so that he could see what he was doing. Chase’s eyes snapped closed on contact and a hushed moan escaped his lips.

“Easy there, hotshot. Don’t get too excited. There’s more fun to come.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, that just happened. I didn't want to go too descriptive because I wanted to leave their first time up to your imagination. For those of you that are worried that Chase is going to have a sudden freakout moment and proclaim he's straight and pull away from Riley, I'm happy to say that you're wrong. There's no way that's happening.


	29. Chapter 29

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's the next chapter. I hope you love it!

Chase couldn’t help but stare at Riley all through dinner. He was cognizant enough to remain present in the conversation and listen to what everyone else was saying, but it was safe to say that he was distracted. He had been with a handful of girls before but none of them could compare to what he shared with Riley. It wasn’t just physical…it was almost spiritual. 

“What did you guys do today?” Matt asked.

Chase took a bite of spaghetti a half a second before so the question was left to Riley to answer. He avoided looking at Chase when he spoke. “We took Rubik for a walk in the forest. I showed Chase where we built that fort when we were kids.”

That wasn’t a lie. Riley had done that, but he left out the part where they fell asleep in each other’s arms and took a two hour nap.

“Yeah, I’ve been meaning to go in there and clean it up. I’m sure it’s probably infested by all kinds of animals by now.”

“It seemed pretty clean,” Chase commented.

“You should clean it up and redo it,” Ms. Griffin suggested. “I’m hoping to have grandkids soon and I’m sure they’d enjoy something like that.”

Chase chose the incorrect time to take a drink. He started coughing and water came pouring out of his nose and mouth. Riley took one look at him and he started laughing. Both Matt and Ms. Griffin were confused.

“Honey, are you alright?” She asked him.

Chase nodded. “I think it went down the wrong way. I’m okay.”

Matt’s raised eyebrow told Riley that he was suspicious, but he was certain that his brother wasn’t anywhere close to guessing what had actually happened. “You never know, Mom. It could happen sooner thank you think.”

“Really? Why do you say that?”

“Because Matt has a crush on my boss. I’m pretty sure it’s mutual.”

Matt rolled his eyes. “He’s overreacting. It was harmless flirting between two moderately attractive adults.”

Chase looked up from the napkin that he was using to clean up the puddles of water on the table. “Is that why you gave her your phone number before you left?”

He started to blush. “No, that was for Riley. I wanted her to be able to contact me if he needed us.”

“Oh, I see. I guess she misplaced my email address and the home phone number on Riley’s emergency contact form,” Ms. Griffin said. 

Matt held up his hands in surrender. “Fine. She’s beautiful and we both enjoyed talking to each other. It isn’t anything more serious than that.”

“Chase, remind me to invite her to come visit the next time I head home for a while. She’s been talking about needing a vacation.”

Chase agreed. “Sure. I'm positive that she'd find something to occupy her time and I know she'd love the scenery.”

“Very funny guys, these two,” Matt commented. He couldn’t help but laugh along with them because he knew it was useless to try to convince them that he wasn’t attracted to Kendall.

“Don’t worry about it, Matt. I’ll put in a good word for you when we get back.”

“I’m going to have to meet her myself, of course, but I’m certainly open to the idea of you moving her in here and starting your own family. This town could use a good museum.”

Chase could picture Kendall and Matt together after seeing how they acted around each other back in Amber Beach. Despite their obvious differences, he found that they had even more in common. 

“Why don’t you all let me worry about my future wife. I don’t see anyone else at this table in a relationship.”

Ms. Griffin turned to Chase. She patted his hand and winked at him before turning to face Matt. “That could change any day now. I think this one is finally starting to respond to my flirtatious comments.”

“Sorry, but I’m afraid my heart belongs to another.”

Ms. Griffin was almost believable when she pretended to wipe the tears from her eyes. “Just my luck. What’s the lucky girl’s name, Chase? Is she one of the people in the internship program?”

“Uh…well…”

“Don’t put him on the spot, Mom.”

“No, it’s okay,” Chase said. “The truth is that Riley and I are together.”

Matt leaned back in his chair. Both Riley and Chase looked around the table and gauged the reaction by the expression on everyone’s faces. Ms. Griffin promptly turned to her oldest son and she held her hand out. They watched as Matt pulled a twenty dollar bill out of his pocket and handed it to her. 

“Thank you, son. Don’t forget, my car needs to be washed with that new special soap I got from the hardware store.”

Chase was surprised. “You both knew?”

Ms. Griffin laughed. “We didn’t know for sure. That’s why we had a bet on it. Matt said that there was no way it was a possibility but a mother has a sense for these things. A platonic friend doesn’t travel as far as Chase did.”

Riley sighed. “Mom, we weren’t even together when Chase got here.”

She shrugged. “A mother can tell. I saw the way you two looked at each other and I knew that I had won the bet.”

Chase looked at her. “You’re not bothered by it, right? I mean, I know I’m probably not your first choice for him, but I do care about Riley.”

“Honey, you don’t need my permission. I can see how important you are to each other and I just want my kids to be happy. I know that you’ve taken good care of him after what happened and after meeting you, I can tell that you’re a good person. Besides, I knew there had to be a reason that you weren’t flirting back with me.”

“I was told not to. Riley was afraid I’d somehow end up his stepfather.”

Ms. Griffen laughed so hard that her elbow landed in the food on her plate. That set the rest of them off and it was almost a full five minutes before they were able to keep from laughing. 

“We’re okay with the fact that you two are together,” Matt said. “But no having sex in our old fort!”

“Don’t be ridiculous,” Riley replied. It was already on his list of places to consummate their relationship before they returned to Amber Beach, but they didn’t know that.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I can picture Chase and Riley's kids hanging out in the fort when they go visit their Grandmother. I also can't help but ship Matt and Kendall. 
> 
> In past chapters you may have noticed that I wrote "Angel Beach" instead of "Amber Beach." I think I got confused between "Angel Grove" and "Amber Beach." I'll try to be more 'with it' in the future. :D


	30. Chapter 30

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, no excuses this time. Let's just all agree that I'm lazy and leave it at that. Instead of writing, I've been chilling in my bed and watching seasons 1 through 13 of Special Victims Unit on Hulu. My priorities have been a little out of whack.

* * *

Riley woke up to light shining in his eyes. He blocked it with his hand and it took a couple of seconds for his eyes to adjust to what it was he was seeing. He glanced at his alarm clock and saw that it was only a few minutes after six. The curtains were blocking out the sunlight as they were designed to do, and he was still tired from staying up late with Chase the night before. He couldn’t imagine what Chase was doing up so early.

“Come back to bed,” he begged. His voice was soft from being asleep for so long.

A figure emerged from the bathroom. Chase stood before him, a towel wrapped around his waist. Riley couldn’t help but stare. “God. Do you ever not look hot?”

Chase put his hands on his hips. “What can I say? I’m blessed with good genes.”

“Why are you awake so early?”

“Matt and I are going horseback riding. Did you forget?”

Riley blinked. “No, I just thought you were kidding. Are you sure you want to go out alone with him? It could take us weeks to find your body.”

That caused Chase to laugh. “Mate, you’re completely overreacting. He knows how much I care about you.”

“I hope he knows how much I care about you. Just promise that you’ll come back in one piece. I won’t be there to snap you two back to your senses if you get into another argument.”

“I’ll be fine. I’ll be on my best behavior.”

It was Riley’s turn to laugh. “You’re cocky even when you’re on your best behavior. Just laugh at his jokes and tease him about his crush on Kendall if he starts giving you a hard time. Now get over here and cuddle with me.”

Chase groaned as he grabbed some of his clothes from the closet. “You know I’d stay in bed with you if I could. I don’t want to be late.”

“Fine. Be that way.”

Riley averted his eyes while Chase was getting dressed. It felt too self-serving to stare and watch and he didn’t want to make his boyfriend self-conscious.

Once Chase had finished getting dressed, he walked over to the bed and climbed in on top of the blankets. He wrapped his arms around Riley and kissed him gently and passionately. “Do you think Tyler and Shelby have hooked up yet?”

Riley had thought about it before but he didn’t have any proof either way, and he didn’t feel the need to ask either of them to know for sure. “I have no idea. Why?”

“Well, I was just wondering how everyone’s going to react when they find out about us. I mean, I know they’ll be happy for us and everything, but do you think Shelby might be a little upset with us?”

That thought surprised Riley. “For what reason?”

Chase bit his lower lip as he thought. “It’s really stupid. It’s just that the two of them were the couple in our group and now we’re a couple…”

Riley pressed their foreheads together. “You’re thinking about it too much. They’re going to be so happy that we’re happy. If anything it means we’ll probably go on double dates with them.”

Chase smiled. “That sounds like fun.”

“It does,” Riley agreed. “Now go. Matt doesn’t like it when people are late.”

“Yes, sir.”

Riley kissed him and watched him get up from the bed. He put on his shoes and then walked out of the door, closing it behind him. Riley closed his eyes and drifted back to sleep.


	31. Chapter 31

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is an important chapter. I hope you like the twist!

Chase was exhausted. Strange parts of his body were hurting, muscles that he didn’t even knew existed, and he was looking forward to seeing Riley and taking it easy for the rest of the day. He and Matt entered the house together and Chase knew something was wrong as soon as he saw Riley and Ms. Griffin’s faces as they were sitting at the kitchen table.

Riley’s eyes were red and it was obvious that he had been crying. “What happened?” Matt asked, once he caught on.

Riley stood up and ran to Chase. The two of them hugged even as Riley began to cry. Ms. Griffin was the first to speak. “Riley got a phone call a few hours ago. They found Aaron in his cell this morning. He hung himself.”

“He didn’t deserve that,” Riley said. Both Matt and Chase were quiet. They were so protective of Riley that a part of each of them wondered if it wasn’t for the best. Riley rested his head on Chase’s shoulder.

“It’s going to be alright, baby raptor,” Chase promised.

“This isn’t your fault, Riley,” Matt added. He could see that Riley was blaming himself and felt the need to make sure that he was aware that no one else was thinking that.

“Aaron was so messed up but there were good parts about him too,” Riley revealed.

“We know that, honey. He was probably so upset at himself for hurting you that he couldn’t accept what he had done.”

“Why didn’t he try to get help?”

“I don’t know. Maybe he didn’t think anyone cared enough to help him? The point is that you knew the good parts as well as the bad. You just have to try and remember that a part of him cared for you, even if it was twisted by how sick he was.”

“S-should I call his parents?”

Ms. Griffin became worried by the image that popped into her head. She couldn’t bear the thought of Riley being chewed out by Aaron’s mother and father, so she decided to suggest that he put it off for a while. “Perhaps, in a few days. Allow them to grieve for a little while.”

Riley let go of Chase and he looked into his eyes. “Want to take a walk?”

Chase nodded. “Sure.”

Matt and Ms. Griffin didn’t object, so they exited through the side door. Riley was quiet as they passed the barn, and Chase could see that he was crying again. Chase couldn’t help but hate Aaron after everything he had done to Riley, but even he felt that a death sentence was too severe when there was a chance for him to get the psychiatric help that he needed. 

“Do you want me to call Kendall and ask her to tell the others?”

Riley put his hands into the pockets of his jeans. “No, I’ll do it.”

“We can do it together,” Chase suggested.

Riley didn’t hesitate. “Sure, but later. Okay?”

Chase stopped once they reached the end of the pasture and the entry to the forrest. Riley wiped the tears from his eyes and then he turned and sat in the grass. Chase sat down next to him so that they were facing each other. “I’m sorry. I guess I don’t feel like walking.”

“No worries.”

“I don’t think I’m in the mood to talk about it either.”

“Fair enough. Do you want to be alone?”

“No. I just don’t know what to think. It’s like I have all these conflicting thoughts and my brain is wearing out while it tries to figure out which of them actually apply to what I’m feeling and what happened.”

A thought came to Chase’s mind. He was hesitant to share it at first, but it seemed appropriate the longer he thought it over. “I have a weird idea, mate. My sister was really upset with my gran when she passed away. She was so young that she thought our gran left on purpose and she didn’t believe us when we tried to tell her that it wasn’t anyone’s fault. My mum told her to write her a letter and tell her how much she missed her and how upset she was. Maybe you should do that?”

“A letter? It’s not like he’d actually get it…”

“It’s about you getting out the stuff that you didn’t get to say. Who knows what actually happens when we die? How do you know his spirit can’t sense that you’re thinking about him?”

Riley shrugged. He was too tired to think about life after death and whether or not Aaron was going to be ghost-stalking him for the rest of his life. “I feel guilty,” Riley confessed. “I feel like his death is all my fault. If I didn’t…”

“Uh, don’t even go there, bro. He would have killed you if he wasn’t arrested. He made his own choices and yes, he needed psychiatric help, but that doesn’t excuse his behavior. He was where he needed to be and he chose to end his life rather than try to get better.”

“That’s not fair.”

“It’s how I see it, Riley. You’re so special and he treated you horribly. You don’t know how amazing you really are because you thought that you deserved to get hurt and abused. The people that love you, and there are a lot of us, want you to know how brighter you make our lives.”

Riley was speecheless. He didn’t know how to respond with words, so he leaned over pressed his head to Chase’s shoulder. “I’m really glad some hot girl didn’t marry you before I got you to sign up for my team.”

“It wouldn’t have mattered.”

“How do you figure?”

“I was always meant to fall in love with you.”

Riley chuckled. “Do you really believe that?”

“I do.”

“We’ll see if you still feel that way when we’ve been married for eighteen years and we have teenagers filling out college applications.”

Chase exhaled slowly. “University? Should I start saving now?”

Riley shrugged. “Probably. Is college chapter in New Zealand?”

“It’s actually a little bit more expensive there. My mum will insist on frequent visits though, and Aunt Chloe will want to spoil the kids rotten as much as possible.”

“Those seem like reasonable requests. I guess all of this means we can go back to Amber Beach now.”

Chase interlocked his fingers with Riley’s and placed his head on Riley’s shoulder, imitating his boyfriend. “Let’s not think about all of that right now, okay? You’re here to be loved by your family and that’s all that needs to happen.”

“Will you stay here with me?” Riley wondered.

“I’ll stay forever if you’ll let me.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yep, Aaron is 100% dead. He won't be coming back to life and he will never again hurt or bother our beloved Riley. Are you happy with my decision to kill him off? Would you rather have seen him rehabilitated? Could he and Riley have ever become friends again after what happened?  
> Let me know in the comments!
> 
> Also, it turns out that Chase is kind of a romantic. It just sort of happened and I didn't want to try to write him any other way. I hope you approve.
> 
> I uploaded the two chapters I had written. I'll upload more as soon as I get them written and edited. Scout's honor!


	32. Chapter 32

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 32 is here at last. I hope you like it!

Chase was leading the way. Riley was following along the same path behind him, weaving through the trees as necessary. They came upon a small clearing and both stopped.

“Are you sure this is a good idea? What if someone sees us?”

Chase didn’t seem bothered by the idea. “No one else is going to be out here. We’re in the middle of nowhere.”

“Chase, we aren’t in the middle. It goes on for miles.”

“It was a figure of speech, mate. People aren’t spying on us. This is a good spot.”

Riley scratched an itch on the back of his neck. A part of him was nervous even though he knew he shouldn’t be. It wasn’t anything he hadn’t done before. 

“Why are you so nervous?” Chase asked.

“I’m out of practice.”

“I don’t believe you.”

“I’m worried that someone is going to see us or something is going to go wrong.”

Chase looked at him. “What could go wrong?”

“Let’s just get this over with.”

Chase laughed. He didn’t want to be a bully and push his boyfriend into anything, but he knew that he was hesitant about something and he wanted to know why.

“Are you sure? I don’t want to force you or anything.”

Riley sighed. “As if you could force me to do anything.”

Chase raises his eyebrows. “Oh, really? You think you could deny any request if I took off my shirt?”

Riley scoffed at the idea. “You’re hot, Chase, but even your abs aren’t enough to get me to do something I don’t want to do. Though I will admit that I would be tempted.”

“Is that what it’s going to take?”

Riley looked at him and his eyes didn’t convey any apprehension to the idea. Chase cleared his throat and he took off his shirt, tossing it to Riley. Riley caught the black shirt and stared at the pair of nipples staring back at him.

“Okay, I kind of want to touch,” Riley confessed.

“Later. Will you do it?”

Riley thought about it. “I’m getting there. How about you take off your pants?”

Chase frowned. “Wait, this isn’t how I pictured it.”

Riley shrugged. “I’m an intellectual. We need more… stimulation.”

“Okay, I’ll make you a deal. If you do this with me, I’ll do something for you later tonight.”

That idea piqued Riley’s interest and he knew better than to refuse. “Fine. I’ll do it.”

“Good. Now, you stand over there.”

“Do I have to?”

“Yes. Go on.”

Riley moved to the spot that Chase pointed to. “Ready?”

Chase nodded. “It’s morphin’ time!”

“Unleash the power,” they said together. A black and green light enveloped them according to the color of their uniforms. When the lights dissipated a moment later, they were both standing fully dressed in their uniforms. They looked the same as they always did, except for the black streak on Riley’s helmet. Chase’s black black now had green streak to match, about an inch in width, and it somehow felt to both of them that the changes in their uniform belonged.

“Is this because of us?”

“It must be,” Riley said. “The changes in our energems didn’t start until we started growing closer. Maybe we tapped into something with the energems…something that even Keeper doesn’t know about?”

“Sure, I can buy that. But what about Tyler and Shelby? This hasn’t happened to them.”

Riley couldn’t deny that fact, and he had to admit that it made whatever happened to them seem less like it had to do with their relationship and more to do with something else. His energem had told him that he was evolving, and it seemed that Chase had gone through the same thing at the same time without realizing it.

“I do feel stronger. What if our bond has strengthened and it’s allowed us to combine the power of our energems?”

“If so, that would make us pretty powerful.”

“Come on, Riley. You can’t tell me that you don’t miss this.”

Riley had no intention of denying it. “It might be good for me to take out some of my aggression on the bad guys, but there’s never any around when you need them.”

Chase raised his arm and balled his fist, tapping the center of his boyfriend’s chest with it. “Don’t talk like that, babe.”

Riley raised an eyebrow. He demorphed to ensure that Chase could see it. “What did you just call me?”

“‘ _Babe._ ’”

Riley walked over to him and placed a hand on his chest. “Are you trying to get me turned on?”

“Maybe.”

Riley lowered his hand to just above the silver belt. He put his hands on Chase’s waist. “Has anyone ever told you how hot your ass looks in your uniform?”

“You can’t even see my ass, mate.”

“Well, that’s because I’m distracted by something else.”

His hand continued to lower to the bulge. He squeezed gently and smiled when Chase moaned from his touch. “What are you doing, mate?”

“Do you really need me to explain myself?”

Chase demorphed and he was surprised that Riley still had his manhood in his grip, only the jeans were more form fitting and the growing bulge was now more visible. “Riley, we’re in the middle of nowhere,” Chase reminded him.

“You’re right. How about I help you out of those jeans, huh?”

It took all of Chase’s focus to decide whether or not it was a good idea. He kept coming back to the fact that if the place was safe enough to morph in, it was safe enough to do things with Riley. But he couldn’t help but wonder how his boyfriend suddenly forgot all about the pain he was feeling over Aaron’s death. 

Chase sighed and reached for Riley’s hand, pulling it away. “I think we need to talk about what’s going on.”

Riley’s face was painted with confusion. “What do we need to discuss?”

“Aaron. It’s like his death isn’t affecting you anymore.”

Riley turned away from him and he took a few steps. His eyes scanned the row of trees in front of him. “I don’t want to talk about him.”

“We need to. I just want to make sure you’re okay.”

Riley started to say something but he stopped himself. He could feel the emotions starting to bubble up and it took everything he had to submerge them all over again. “We should probably head back now.”


	33. Chapter 33

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I decided that it's time for a little Matt/Chase bonding time. Completely platonic, of course. This isn't that kind of story, you know. :D

Riley was avoiding him. 

Chase was worried. He understood that his boyfriend was going through a difficult time and he wanted to support him, but he wasn’t sure how to go about it. He took advantage of Riley’s trip into town with his mother. That left him alone in the house with Matt.

“Can we talk about something?”

Matt looked up from the laptop. He nodded slowly. “Of course.”

“I’m worried about Riley.”

Matt closed the laptop. He placed both hands on top of it and began to remember a time when Riley was younger. Looking back, he now knew that it was when the abuse first started, but he didn’t know that at the time.

“Riley has always been a happy guy. He was too smart for his own good when he was a toddler, but he was never very good at socializing with others. He got better at it in middle school, and that was around the same time he figured out that he was gay. He met Aaron in high school and a few months into their relationship, he just changed.”

“Yeah, he told me a little about that.”

“It was weird. He was suddenly timid and afraid of his own shadow. There were times when he wanted to be with Aaron every waking minute, and then there were times where we couldn’t even get him to come out of his bedroom.”

That sounded all too familiar to Chase. “He’s doing it again. He’s burying how he feels and when I brought it up, he started going bush on me.”

“Excuse me?”

“Oh, he shut down. Clammed up?”

Matt nodded as he began to understand Chase’s slang. “That’s just how he is. Give him a little time and he’ll come around. He’s probably talking things over with our mom as they drive into town.”

“I hope so. I don’t like it when he doesn’t talk to me.”

Matt smirked. “You surprise me. I thought Riley was wasting his time on you when I came to see him in Amber Beach. I can see how wrong I was now.”

Chase blushed. “You can?”

“Yeah. You love him.”

“I do. I still can’t believe it.”

“Have you told your mom and your sister yet?”

Chase laughed. “I haven’t figured out the right way. It seems wrong to do it by phone call or email, and I don’t know how soon I’ll be able to catch a flight back home. I will tell them. I’m terrified of it, but I’m not going to try to hide it.”

“Good. You’ll be happier.”

“Have you called Kendall yet?”

It was Matt’s turn to blush. “No. Uh, can I ask you a question?”

“Anything.”

“Well, it’s the way Riley described you in your emails. He suggested that you flirted with everyone and I was just wondering if anything ever happened between you and Kendall?”

Chase laughed. He had never told any of the others, but he supposed it was safe to tell Matt. “I certainly tried, but she saw right through me. She’s been my supervisor since I arrived at the museum and she kept things professional. To be honest, I’m glad nothing ever happened.”

“How come?”

“Now that I’m her friend, I would never want someone like the guy I was to hurt her. Actually, she kind of reminds me of Riley. The two of them kind of have that little brother-big sister bond.”

“I’m nervous to call her,” Matt admitted. “I live so far away and I have a life here. She’s totally out of my league.”

Chase cleared his throat. “Don’t take this the wrong way, Matt, but you’re an attractive guy. You’re hard working and you care about your family. You’re intelligent…I think that you’d be a good match for her. Don’t not call because you’re afraid you’re not good enough for her.”

Matt smiled. “I’m definitely the hotter brother, right?”

“I’m afraid I have to disagree with that one, bro.”

“Fair enough.”


	34. Chapter 34

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wasn't sure I was going to take the story in this direction, but I figured it needed to happen sooner or later. A couple of more secrets are spilled and you may just be surprised which ones they are.

The three of them, Matt, Riley, and Chase, were working together on cleaning out the barn. Hearing a blood-curdling scream wasn’t something they expected, and they all stood and stared at each other in confusion for a couple of seconds before Matt ran ahead to see what was wrong with his and Riley’s mother.

Riley’s mouth was wide open when he saw the dozen vivix near the house, two of them holding onto his mother. He wanted to yell, to scream because of his surprise, but not a single sound would come out. He looked over at Chase and they nodded to each other. 

Matt ran for his mother and he punched one of the vivix in his way. It fell backwards and he jumped over it, but two more grabbed hold of him before he could reach Ms. Griffin. Matt managed to turn to Chase and Riley. “Run! Don’t let these things catch you!”

Neither of them was willing to let that happen. Ms. Griffin and Matt watched as they fought the creatures that had invaded the farm. Their punches and kicks looked effortless, like the entire thing was some kind of elaborate dance. The vivix that fell to the ground vanished as a new pod landed on the other side of the barn. Two dozen more came rushing towards them like an army storming a strategic site. Riley took a look at his mother and brother before turning to Chase. “Looks like I get my wish after all.”

“Let’s do this. Unleash the power!”

Just as their experiment in the forest had transformed them, they were enveloped by a green and black light that covered their entire bodies. When they stepped out of the light, they were wearing their uniforms. The vivix moved in to attack and Chase used his Dino Charge Morpher to blast the first four headed his way.

“Nice shooting, hotshot.”

“I still have a few moves you haven’t seen,” Chase joked. Matt and Ms. Griffin continued to watch in surprise, their arms restrained by two vivix each.

Riley used his Dino Saber to slash as he did a difficult spin, taking out five of the vivix. Those that were on the ground vanished to make room for the remainder that continued to head toward them. They worked together and took out the vivix, combining kicks and punches and using their momentum to help provide their victory. 

When they turned back, the four vivix holding the prisoners released them and advanced. They defeated them effortlessly and then demorphed after it was obvious that the threat had passed. Ms. Griffin and Matt ran to them and hugged them. “You two have some explaining to do,” Ms. Griffin said, a stern tone in her voice.

“Soon. Chase, you call Kendall and tell her what happened. I’m going to go check out the pod.”

Chase shook his head. “Don’t bother. It looks like it’s leaving on its own.”

Riley’s eyes scanned the ship and watched as it’s engines fired up and it took off, disappearing from sight as it gained a higher elevation every few seconds. Chase used his Dino Com and was able to get in touch with Kendall quickly.

“Chase, we’ve been worried. We detected a large power signature and we were reading alien life signs near your position.”

“We were attacked by vivix. Riley’s mum and brother were being held and we had to morph to get rid of the threat.”

Kendall smiled. “Riley was able to morph? That’s exceptional news.”

“Yeah. Here, talk to Matt for a bit.” Chase handed the device to Matt and he walked over to Riley. He didn’t want to say anything in order to keep from worrying Kendall and anyone else that may have been in the base with her, but Riley was crying.

“Hey. Are you alright?”

Riley nodded. “I think so. It sounds bad to say this, I know, but it felt good to take out my frustration on them.”

“I think there are probably better ways to work out your aggression. More productive ways, at least.”

Riley couldn’t disagree. “I’m crying because I finally realized something. I understand why I didn’t fight back all the times that Aaron hurt me. Especially the last few times. It wasn’t because I was afraid, although I was certainly dealing with a lot of fear and other emotions that came back to the front of my mind. I didn’t fight him because I knew that I didn’t want to hurt him.”

Chase hugged him. “You’re a compassionate guy, baby raptor. It’s one of the things I love about you.”

“I love you, too,” Riley whispered, preferring to share his feelings in that moment with only his boyfriend. 

“Bye, Kendall,” Matt said. He shook the device a couple of seconds before walking to Chase and handing it back. Then he wrapped his arms around the both of them. “Get over here Mama,” he added.

She joined them and the four of them, despite the other things they were feeling, were happy to be in each other’s company while everyone was safe. “I guess I should start at the beginning. I was attacked by an alien in the woods and found the green energem. I protected Rubik from the alien and the energem found me worthy and sort of claimed me.”

“That’s why you wanted to go to the museum?”

“Yeah. I needed to know more about it and, I don’t know, I felt like something was calling me there. I met Tyler and Shelby on the way and the three of us met Kendall, Koda, and Chase once we got to town. Everything just fell into place.”

“I don’t know what to say,” Ms. Griffin admitted. “I’m proud of you, Riley. We’ve heard about the Power Rangers even out here, and your brother and I always thought that you and your friends were courageous people to be willing to help strangers. I think the thing that you found, whatever you called it, saw what the rest of us see in you too. It chose the right person.”

“Thanks, Mom. Could you stop embarrassing me in front of my boyfriend?”

They all laughed. “I’ll never agree to that. Just promise me that you two and your friends will look out for each other. This world is dangerous enough as you both know from personal experience.”

Matt cleared his throat. “Which color outfit does Kendall wear?”

Chase and Riley shared a look. “Well, why do you want to know?”

“Simple human curiosity.”

“I don’t think it would be right for us to say,” Chase said.

Riley nodded. “Yeah, I agree. It wouldn’t be right for us to reveal all of the details of her secret identity.”

Matt glared at them. “You’re both kidding me, right?”

Chase shrugged. Riley patted his brother on the shoulder. “Don’t worry, bro. It’ll give you two something to talk about on that first date.”

“I hate you.”

“Too bad. You’re stuck with me.”

“Us,” Chase clarified.

“Right. Us,” Riley corrected. 

A sly smile spread onto Matt’s face. “Fine. Chase, has Riley had the chance to tell you about Rachel and Michael Steele?”

Riley’s eyes widened and he began to push Chase toward the house. Pushing a guy like Chase wasn’t easy, however, and Riley was finding that out the hard way. “No, he hasn’t. Who are they?”

Riley groaned. “Don’t you dare.”

Matt chuckled to himself as Ms. Griffin looked on and watched happily, her own curiosity getting the better of her. “Here’s how this works, boys. We both have information the other wants and, in Riley’s case, information that he doesn’t want divulged. The first person that tells me what I want to know gets…”

“Purple!” Chase and Riley said together, the loudness of their voices unchecked in the heat of the moment. Matt continued to smile as he crossed his arms.

“I think she looks good in purple,” Matt replied.

“I’ll tell her you said so.”

“Go ahead,” Matt countered. 

Riley resumed trying to pull Chase away but just as before, he found the task impossible. He gave up and relented when it was obvious that Chase was going to know what it was that Matt had knowledge of. 

“The Steele twins were Riley’s classmates in the ninth grade. They moved to New Hampshire at the end of Riley’s sophomore year in high school, but the three of them were pretty good friends. They went to each other’s birthday parties and they both had quite the crush on Riley.”

Chase’s eyebrows raised. “Wait. Rachel and Michael?”

Riley used his hands to cover his face in an attempt to hide his embarrassment. “It was on a dare…”

“My brother was more than happy to spend ‘seven minutes in heaven’ with both of them, and I can tell you with good authority that only one twin left with heartbreak that night.”

Chase smiled and he turned to Riley. “Well? Which twin was it?”

“Do you even need to ask? Rachel wouldn’t talk to me for a month and her brother said they made a pact to only be friends with me, otherwise they weren’t speaking to each other. 

“Did he keep his promise?”

It was Riley’s turn to grin. “You know me, hotshot. I don’t kiss and tell.”

Chase frowned after a second. “And what is ‘seven minutes in heaven?’”

Riley grabbed Chase’s hand. “Come up to my bedroom with me and find out.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I kind of put the whole Riley evolving thing on the back-burner while he dealt with Aaron's death and spent some time getting closer to Chase. I brought it up briefly here and there and knew it was something that Kendall needed to be made aware of. Stay tuned for more chapters to be posted soon (possibly the final chapters of the story...!!)


	35. Chapter 35

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yep, it's been a while since I've updated. Here is the next chapter. Apologies for it being on the shorter side.

Matt looked up from the newspaper he was reading. HIs eyes scanned Chase and came to rest on Riley. “Seven minutes? More like four hours. And by all the moans coming from upstairs, you two were playing the game wrong.”

Chase blushed while Riley smiled gleefully. “I’m an experienced player and I know all the right moves.”

“I’ll take your word for it.” Matt was smart enough to know not to push for details.

“Where’s mom?”

“You guys scared her out of the house.”

“Really?” Chase asked, horrified.

Matt chuckled, surprised that Chase even needed to ask the question. “No, of course not. She wanted to go horseback riding to clear her head. I offered to go with her but she insisted on going alone.”

Fear that the vivix could return and try to capture her hit Riley like a ton of bricks. “How long has she been gone? When is she coming back?”

“Calm down, kid. She’s already back home and she’s putting the horse back into her stall.”

Riley breathed a sigh of relief. He knew that he would have given the bad guys anything they wanted if they took his mom or brother hostage and it would be best to avoid that situation from coming to fruition.

“Good. You guys should stay close to home for a few days as a precaution. I don’t want anything to happen to you guys.”

Matt looked at his brother. “You don’t have to watch over us, Riley. I don’t think those things would dare come back here with both of you still in the house.”

Riley stole a glance at Chase before he turned his attention back to his older brother. “About that. It’s about time that Chase and I head back to the Amber Beach.”

Matt frowned. “Are you sure? I mean, you haven’t really been home that long.”

“I told him that I could go back by myself. Riley thinks that we should go back together,” Chase explained.

“Mom’s not going to like it. But I guess we can’t lock you up in your room…”

Riley closed the distance between himself and his brother and he hugged Matt. “You can always come back with us and stay for a few days. Kendall will show you all the cool places that you didn’t get to see on your last visit. You can even bring mom.”

“Maybe, once it starts to cool down. We could probably come out for a week or so. When are you going to head out?”

“Tomorrow.” Riley knew that the team needed them back even though they were pulling together to pick up their slack. He was doing better dealing with things with Chase’s care and support. He knew that he would be okay as long as he always remembered that his friends were in his corner.

The door opened and Riley’s mother walked in, obvious to the conversation that the three of them had been having. The room grew quiet and Ms. Griffin seemed hesitant to say anything at first. “Alright, let’s just confront the elephant in the room, boys. Yes, Riley, your brother and I could hear the two of you going at it in your bedroom. It’s perfectly natural and you two have nothing to be embarrassed about.”

Chase blushed and his ears were the first part of his body to redden. Riley grabbed his hand and kissed him on the cheek. “Actually, the three of us were discussing our plans. Chase and I need to head back to the museum tomorrow.”

A mixture of emotions appeared on Ms. Griffins face. When it looked like she was about to cry, she regained her composure at the last second even though it was clear that she didn’t want Riley’s visit to come to an end. “I don’t want either of you to go,” she divulged.

“We don’t want to leave yet, but we have responsibilities to get back to.”

“We understand that you have to go. We just wish that it wasn’t happening so soon,” she clarified.

Matt turned and looked at his mother. “Don’t worry, mom. Riley already promised to let us come and visit once the weather cools down and we have less work to do here on the farm.”

“Well, that’ll be nice. I’ve been looking forward to meeting my future daughter in law.”

It was Matt’s turn to blush. Riley couldn’t help but wonder if that would really happen someday, if Matt and Kendall would fall in love and have the kind of feelings he felt for Chase. His thoughts naturally drifted to his own wedding day at a date far into the future. He hoped that it would be Chase that he was standing up at the altar with.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Was it worth the wait? Don't worry -- there's a lot of interesting stuff coming up in the next few chapters.


	36. Chapter 36

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is a little snipped of the bus ride back to Amber Beach. It's mainly to show Chase and Riley in a relationship, but it also sets up an interesting tidbit to the plot.

* * *

Chase and Riley were seated next to each other on the Greyhound bus headed for Amber Beach. It was the easiest way to get back even though Matt had offered to drive them. Riley was worried that his family would be in more danger if they left the farm, so the bus ride gave him a little peace of mind. 

“How long until we get there?”

“A little over three and a half hours,” Riley calculated. 

Chase smiled at him because he knew that Riley was counting the miles in his head. He knew exactly how many miles it would take to get back to the farm, and exactly how many miles it would take to get back to their friends at the museum. Riley also knew that the bus driver was going slightly over the speed limit and that their speed would slim their time by a few minutes as long as they weren’t pulled over.

“What?”

“You’re cute is all.”

Riley laughed off the compliment. “Me? You should have seen the way those girls were looking at you when we got on the bus. In fact, one of them keeps looking back here to check on you every ten minutes or so.”

Chase blushed slightly, but it was still enough for Riley to notice. Riley liked the way it made Chase look. He hadn’t really noticed whether or not Chase blushed before he showed up at the farm, and now he knew why: it was almost indiscernible to someone that didn’t know what to look for. “Really? Are they looking now?”

“Not yet, but if they stick to the schedule, it will be any minute.”

Chase licked his bottom lip. “Good. I don’t want them to miss this.”

Chase leaned into Riley and kissed him passionately. The kiss only lasted a few seconds but it took a couple of minutes for both of them to recover. A quick look around told Riley that no one was giving them disapproving looks, so he was able to stay calm. He ignored the frown from one of the girls that had been ogling Chase. Chase whispered something into his ear, something that he hoped he’d never forget: “You taste so good.”

“You’re not so bad yourself,” Riley whispered back, planting a kiss behind Chase’s ear.

“The guys are going to take one look at us and know.”

Riley shook his head. “I doubt they’d notice unless we start making out in front of them.”

An idea came to mind and Chase looked at Riley. “How much do you want to bet?”

“That they won’t notice? I’d hate to take advantage of you…”

“Put your money where your mouth is. Unless you’re afraid you’ll lose.”

Riley grinned. “Fine. I’ll give you twenty-four hours. If anyone brings it up within the first twenty-four hours, you win. But you can’t kiss me in front of anyone or that invalidates the bet.”

Chase frowned. “I can’t kiss you for twenty-four hours? That takes away all the fun.”

Riley relented for his and Chase’s sanity. “Well, we can still kiss in private places. You ought to know a few secluded corners we can meet up in.”

Already thinking about a few of his favorite secluded spots, Chase nodded. “I know a couple.”

“Then it’s settled. You get twenty-four hours so long as you don’t kiss me in front of them or do anything to give it away. If it takes longer than twenty-four hours then I’m the one that wins.”

“Fair enough, mate. What’s your wager?”

Riley thought long and hard on something that would be adequate and beneficial without causing his boyfriend too much distress. “If you lose then you have to dress up as a fireman for Halloween.”

“A fireman?” Chase asked.

Riley shrugged. “I have a fetish.”

A series of images popped into Chase’s mind and he was almost on the verge of hoping he would lose, but he wasn’t going to give up without a fight. “Deal. And if you lose, you have to move in with me.”

Riley was taken by surprise. “Really? Are you sure?”

Chase nodded. “I like having you close by, Riley. I feel good when I’m around you.”

Riley wanted more than anything to say yes, but he was hesitant. “Are you sure we’re ready for that?”

“We were already sleeping in the same bed when you were staying over. I don’t want to push you to do something you’re not ready for, but I think we’re already at the point where we’re comfortable living together.”

Riley couldn’t deny that Chase was correct. They had been living together for almost two weeks except for the couple of days when he was alone at the farm, and that was probably the loneliest time he’d been forced to get through in years. He took a look at Chase and smiled at the way he looked out of the window and watched the scenery pass by.

“Okay then. If any of the team figures it out and asks the question, I’ll move in with you. If not, well, let’s just say that you’re going to be busy for the majority of the Halloween weekend.”

“You’re going to be so disappointed when you lose,” Chase revealed. “But don’t worry. I’ll make you feel better.”

“I like the way you think.” Riley and Chase shared a laugh before Riley opted to rest his head on Chase’s shoulder. “Thanks for coming to the farm to check on me, and for being with me through all of this.”

“Thanks for letting me. I’m sure I was driving everyone crazy with how worried about you I was. That’s probably why they made me leave.”

“Wait. Kendall already knows there’s something going on between us, so she can’t count with the bet.”

Chase agreed. “I forgot. Do you think she’ll say anything to the others?”

“I doubt it. Whether I win or lose, I’m getting you in a skimpy fireman outfit,” Riley promised.

“It won’t take much convincing,” Chase admitted. They both closed their eyes after a few minutes, comfortable in the fact that their bodies were touching and that everyone was safe and that things were good with the world.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Which of our guys do you think will be the one to win the bet? Any guesses?


	37. Chapter 37

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Our boys are back in Amber Beach. That doesn't mean that things are going to be all happiness, flirting, and makeout sessions.

* * *

* * *

They were surprised to find the team there waiting for them at the bus station, complete with signs welcoming them home. After a round of hugs, Riley and Chase shared a confused look. “Did you tell them we were coming back?”

Chase slipped his hands into the pockets of his jeans. He wanted to reach out and touch Riley, to feel that his boyfriend was close, and his pockets were the only safe place for his hands to be without giving away their relationship. Equally curious, Chase could only admit the truth. “It wasn’t me, mate.”

“I detected two energems approaching the city a few hours ago. It didn’t take long to figure out that it was the two of you heading back,” Kendall revealed. “How are you doing, Riley?”

“I’m better. I just want to thank all of you for being patient and supportive. I’ll make up all those extra shifts you guys to work to cover for Chase and I being gone.”

“I miss you… both,” Koda said, pulling them in for another hug. That snowballed quickly, developing into a group hug in a matter of seconds. Kendall was the first to break away. “I hate to break things up, but we are expected back at the museum in half an hour. How about we drop you off at Chase’s apartment on the way back?”

“That would be great. It feels like we’ve been gone for six months.”

Tyler wrapped his arm around Riley. “It’s good to know you missed us. Some of us were afraid that you might not come back.”

Riley couldn’t deny having that thought pretty frequently in the few days before Chase arrived, but now he couldn’t imagine giving up and choosing to quit his internship. “I don’t turn my back on my friends. Plus, there are still energems for us to find.”

“Speaking of energems,” Shelby began, “when are you two going to show us these cool changes to your uniforms? Miss Morgan mentioned that you’ve both done some evolving.”

“Certainly not here, Shelby,” Kendall joked. She waved her arms around to signal that there were far too many people in their vacinity. “Let’s get back to the museum and Riley and Chase can join us in a few hours once they’ve both gotten settled in.”

“That sounds fair, I suppose.”

“Good. The jeep isn’t far.”

Miss Morgan drove back with Koda and Ivan in a museum van since they had the earliest shift at the cafe. Tyler drove his jeep and Shelby sat up front in the passenger seat which left Chase and Riley alone in the back. They sat close together, using their bags as an excuse to be closer than two guys with a platonic friendship would have been.

“Everything has stayed the same here,” Shelby explained. “Except there’s a new waitress at the cafe. She’s really cool and she’s only here for another year while she finishes her degree in architecture. Chase, the museum switchboard got quite a few calls from girls looking for you. I think they stopped taking messages after the third day.”

Chase chuckled to himself. He was certainly flattered that they cared to call, but he didn’t intend on calling any of them back. “I feel a little bad for not calling them back, but it wasn’t like it was serious with any of them. I made sure they knew that.”

“You’re a handsome guy with a good heart, Chase. You can’t blame them for wanting a second chance,” Riley commented. The others agreed with him from the front.

Chase smiled at Riley. “I guess not.”

“How has Keeper been?” Riley inquired. He felt bad for not asking sooner.

“You know Keeper. He’s in and out of the base. He always seems to be there when we need him,” Tyler said.

“I asked him where he always disappears to and he told me that he teleports around the world to search for other energems. He hasn’t found any as far as I know.”

Riley felt Chase’s fingers interlock with his own and he turned his body to better hide it from Tyler and Shelby. They remained that way until they arrived at Chase’s apartment. 

“Riley, do you want us to drop you off at your place?”

“No, but thanks for the offer. I think Chase and I will walk over there once he gets unpacked and settled.”

“Alright. Well, we’ll see you guys back at the museum.”

“Welcome home!” Shelby reiterated, her face as happy and enthusiastic as it had been when they first stumbled upon them at the bus station. The guys watched the drive off, giving them a quick wave. They resumed holding hands once it was clear that no one was watching them. 

“I hope I remembered to take out the trash before we left,” Chase said. “I can’t remember if I did or not.”

They entered the apartment and Chase immediately had the answer to his question. He turned to Riley. “You get the windows, mate. I’ll take this to the dumpster.”

Riley went to action opening up the few windows around the dorm apartment. It was a single room, just big enough for one or two people in the short-term, but Riley couldn’t deny that he would prefer staying there with Chase rather than returning to his apartment. It would hardly be a bad win, he figured. He just wanted Chase in that fireman’s outfit a little bit more.

Chase returned from taking out the trash. He washed his hands before returning to Riley and planting a kiss on his lips. “I’ve been wanting to do that ever since we got back into town. That was our first kiss in Amber Beach.”

Riley didn't feel like complaining. “Are you the sentimental type? Are you going to surprise me with a note in three months reminding me of the anniversary of our first kiss?”

“Probably,” Chase admitted. “Except in three months I have to head back home.”

Riley sighed. “Then we have to make the next three months the best you’ve ever had.”

Chase smirked and he strategically placed his hands on Riley’s hips. “You could always come with me. I could introduce you to my mum and to Chloe. They’ll love you.”

“I’d like that. We didn’t get to see that much while we were there last time.”

“I know. But we have plenty of time, right?”

“Of course we do. We have time to make out on the bed and we can even do obscene things in the shower. But we do have to be at the museum in a few hours, so nothing too labor intensive.”

Chase couldn’t hold in his laughter. “Are you proposing we do parkour between now and then?”

“Not unless that’s something we can both do without our clothes.” Riley winked.

“I wouldn’t recommend it. There are too many sharp edges and lots of exposed concrete. I guess we’d better figure out something else we can do without our clothes…”

Riley placed his hands on Chase’s shoulders. “What a great idea! Should I bring up my shower idea again?”

“You have the best ideas,” Chase confessed, embracing what was about to happen.

“Good. You make sure the door is locked and I’ll go start the water.”

Chase grinned and they went their separate ways. He never would have imagined how at ease he could feel around Riley, especially when topics like having sex were involved, not to mention doing the actual deed with said person. But he loved Riley, and he knew that he had found the one person in all the world that he could be his complete, authentic self with.

He heard the sound of water beginning to run and he verified that the door was locked. He was walking towards the bathroom when his Dino Com started chirping. He activated it reluctantly and quickly saw Tyler’s face appear on the screen. “Chase, where are you guys at?”

“We’re about to get in the shower.” It took him a couple of seconds to realize how that sounded and he quickly worked for a recovery. “Uh, he’s going to get in first and then I’m going to take a shower when he’s done. What’s going on?”

He felt like a fool for trying to cover and failing so miserably, but he didn't think Tyler had noticed. “Kendall, Ivan, and Koda never made it back to the museum. Something’s wrong.”

Chase was surprised. “They should have beat you back, and we would have seen them on the way over if they had a problem with the van. Are they answering their Dino Coms?”

“No, and there’s a strange reading at Ryland’s Park. Can you and Riley meet us there?”

Chase didn’t even need to be asked. “Of course. We can be there in five minutes if we run.”

“Shelby and I will get there as soon as we can. Be careful.”

Chase ended the video call and walked into the bathroom. Riley was still dressed and he was in the process of turning off the water. “You heard?”

Riley placed his hands on his hips. “Yeah. Wouldn’t you be faster if you took your skateboard?”

Chase didn’t even have to guess. “Sure, but I don’t want to leave you behind.”

“It’s okay. I’d rather one of us get there as soon as possible if they’re in some kind of trouble. I shouldn’t be too far behind you. And watch your back, Chase.”

“I will. You do the same, okay?”

They both headed out of the front door, Chase with his skateboard in hand and Riley with a look of determination on his face as he mentally plotted the fastest route to the park. They separated once they reached the sidewalk as Riley cut through a shopping center parking lot that would have been too dangerous for Chase to go into on his board.

They both hoped that they would be able to reach their friends in time.


	38. Chapter 38

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The mystery of what happened to Koda, Ivan, and Kendall is revealed. Also, Riley and Chase reveal their relationship to someone. Who do you think it could be?

* * *

* * *

Kendall regained consciousness and found herself floating a few feet off of the ground, her body being circled by three black spheres that were illuminating parts of her body with white light. She turned her head and saw that Ivan and Koda were experiencing the same thing and that they were both awake.

“How did we get here?” She asked.

“You received a remote alert and we came to the park to investigate,” Ivan explained, worried that she didn’t remember. His words were enough to jog her memory and she began searching the area for the green-skinned alien monster that had ambushed them. It was nowhere to be seen, but she was certain that it wasn’t too far away.

“Can either of you contact the others?”

“Can’t move arms,” Koda revealed, worry in his eyes.

“It would appear that we are restrained by these hovering globes of sorcery,” Ivan added.

“Great. We need to figure out a way out of these things before the others get lured into the same trap. Can either of you turn your bodies at all?”

“No,” they both said in unison.

“I’m stuck too,” she confessed. “We’re going to have to wait for them to reach us.”

They didn’t have to wait too long.

Chase came riding towards them and they watched as he did a trick to jump over their morphers. The devices were all stacked on top of each other on the sidewalk. “Be careful,” Kendall yelled out. “Odds are that this is a trap.”

Chase came to a halt as the monster materialized in his path. He jumped off the skateboard and did a roll in the grass to avoid being hurt. When he turned back to face the monster, the monster giggled. “Another ranger for my collection? Oh, goody!”

“You should find yourself a more educational hobby,” Chase joked, already drawing his morpher. “Unleash the power!”

Kendall and the others watched as Chase transformed into his green trimmed black uniform. Not one to be distracted, he used his blaster and shot down three of the spheres circling Koda, but three new ones replaced them.

“Leave my collection alone!” The monster screeched, rushing towards him like a football player ready to tackle the opposing team. Chase dodged the assault but he wasn’t prepared for the beam of light that came towards him. It was emanating from the creature’s hand.

“Collector’s my name and capturing you is my game,” Collector sang. Chase struggled against the beam of light but he found himself restrained. It wasn’t even five seconds before his body was lifted up and it was directed over next to Koda. Three new spheres began to orbit around him to keep him in place. 

The glow on Collector’s hand vanished and she did a dance of glee. “How many more will I collect? I can’t wait to show Poisandra what I caught!” She vanished out of sight but it was clear to all of them that she was still there, watching and waiting.

The sound of a vehicle behind them coming to a halt piqued their interest, but they didn’t have the ability to turn around and see what was happening. Chase looked up and he saw Riley running towards them from the same direction he had come from, but he became more cautious when he saw that they were all trapped.

“Ambush?” He yelled to them so that they could hear him from his position 12 meters away.

“It’s still here somewhere. Morphing doesn’t seem to help, mate,” Chase yelled back.

“Then we distract the monster,” Shelby said, running around them and into their field of vision. Tyler nodded his agreement to the plan once he came around the other direction. Riley managed to catch up to them before Collector appeared, and she was even more excited than she was previously.

“Let us go,” Kendall begged. She knew it was a useless attempt, but she couldn’t admit defeat without giving it a try.

“But then I won’t have any rangers in my collection.”

“Do you have any fossils in your collection?” Riley asked.

Collector looked at him, her expression overly exaggerated and equally mysterious. “Fossils? What kind of fossils?”

“From dinosaurs. The only place you can find fossils is at a museum and we know where you can get some pretty great fossils, Collector,” Shelby offered. She was trying her best to convince the monster to go along with a trade.

“I don’t want fossils! I want a full set of power rangers!”

Tyler and Shelby took the opportunity to dart off in opposite directions. Riley stayed still and he was all but forgotten by Collector, who seemed more worried about her potential captives escaping. She ran off after Tyler while Riley went to work. He was careful not to touch any of the spheres or step into the light beams.

“I tried to shoot them but they replicated their own replacements.”

“That’s pretty ingenious. Self-replication is an incredibly effective method of…”

“Free us please,” Koda begged. He was obviously not impressed with Riley’s opinion in that situation, not that Riley could blame him.

“That camouflage trick is pretty impressive too. I wish we could do something like that.”

“Sir Riley, I have an idea,” Ivan interjected. “Perhaps an exorcism against this magic would be effective and allow us to become free?”

Riley stared at him and he blinked a couple of times, unsure whether or not he was being serious or telling a joke. He finally settled on thinking that Ivan was being sincere, albeit gravely misinformed. “This isn’t magic, Ivan. It’s technology. And technology can be disrupted if one knows where to find…the off button.”

Riley reached up and pressed a small circular spot on the nearest sphere. One by one the spheres stopped producing light and then they fell down to the grass. The rangers, once free, fell down to the ground too.

“Guys, we have company,” Shelby warned, running towards them with Tyler right behind her. Collector was the next to come into view, and she was clearly mad that her collected rangers had been released from their cages.

“No! How dare you touch my things? I will make you pay, green ranger.”

“Hold that thought. Unleash the power!”

The remaining six rangers collected and activated their morphers in order to transform. Collector took a step back in surprise before regrouping and thinking up a new strategy of attack. She held out both of her hands toward Chase and the beams of light moved toward him. Riley jumped in front of him and sliced at the light with his blade, splitting the beam in two and protecting himself and his boyfriend from succumbing to the beam.

“Nice moves, Riley,” Chase complimented. He held his blaster over Riley’s shoulder and opened fire, knocking Collector down to the ground.

The other rangers followed, attacking Collector one at a time with their weapons until she turned to dust and blew away in the wind. Confused by their sudden win, the rangers all turned to each other for an explanation.

“Is it really gone?” Tyler asked.

“She,” Shelby corrected.

“I can’t be sure without taking scans back at the base, but it looks like we found her weakness.”

“Well, how do we know she isn’t just camouflaged again? She could be waiting to strike when we least expect her to.”

“Wait. If she’s invisible then she could follow us back to the base and cause trouble.”

Riley sighed. “Is anyone else getting a headache?” Kendall was the first and only person to raise her hand. 

“Look, I think we have to risk it. There’s an auto alert that gets sent to my Dino Com if alien biosigns are detected at the museum, so I think it’s our safest bet.”

* * *

Once they had returned to the base, Kendall was quick to run scans to verify that Collector was gone. “All readings are human; there are zero alien signatures in the area.”

The group applauded each other’s success and with the threat out of the way, the group had to return to their day jobs. “You two should report to the cafe,” Kendall said, looking to Ivan and Koda. They both turned and headed upstairs to begin their shifts.

Chase caught Riley staring at him and he smiled, not caring that the others could be watching them. They instinctively moved closer to each other but they still had their wits and avoided doing anything that would give away their relationship and invalidate the bet. Tyler turned to Shelby. “We have to start in half an hour. Want to catch a bite first?”

“Absolutely. I’m starving,” she reported. She turned to face Chase and Riley. “Do you guys want to join us?”

“Actually, I’d like to run some scans and get a look at their energems,” Kendall said. “Maybe they can join you later?”

Shelby nodded, excited by the opportunity to spend some time alone with Tyler. “Okay. See you guys later.”

“Bye,” Tyler said, before he turned and followed Shelby to the hidden staircase. 

Kendall walked to her instruments and picked up a hand-held scanner. She walked back to the boys and waved it over the both of them, oblivious to the fact that Riley and Chase were unable to keep from staring at one another. “These readings are going to keep me busy for the next few hours, I’m sure. I can’t begin to tell you how exciting it is to have an opportunity to study energems that have evolved. It’s like a whole new avenue of untapped information.”

“Do you think these scans will help you locate the other energems?”

“Possibly. I mean, we still aren’t sure why both of your energems began evolving at the same time, though I do have my suspicions.”

“Actually, we have a theory about that as well,” Riley said.  
 She looked up from the device she was holding in her hands. “Really? What are your thoughts?”

“It’s just that my bond with Chase has gotten a lot stronger recently. After what happened with Aaron, well, I was pretty much the lowest I’ve been in a while. I felt responsible for letting Aaron hurt me again and the walls that I had built to protect myself came tumbling down.”

“I see what you mean. Perhaps your emotional state triggered some kind of psychological reset? The fact that you were exposed and at your weakest gave the energem the chance to help you heal wounds that you had tried to cover up and hide away. Then, when your friendship strengthened even further, it triggered a dual evolutionary event.”

“We should tell her,” Riley whispered to Chase. His voice was still loud enough for her to hear, and she looked on with the expectation that they should continue. After all, she was looking at all of this through a scientific viewpoint; she needed to know all of the variables that were involved.

“Right. Well, uh, Riley and I are together.”

“Oh?” Riley could tell that she was both confused and on the verge of getting the idea, so he took the opportunity to provide the final push. He knew he had to be delicate to avoid scarring her for life.

“We’re dating, like with kissing. Chase is my boyfriend.”

Then everything fell into place. “Well, after my conversations with both of you, I kind of figured it was inevitable. Maybe the energem’s evolved because your relationship evolved? This is fascinating…”

Chase cleared his throat. Kendall immediately came to her senses and started blushing for how carried away she was. “I’m sorry, guys. I’m happy that you two are happy! You know how my mind gets sometimes.”

“Thanks, Miss Morgan. We’re keeping it quiet for a day or two because we have a bet to see when someone will figure it out.”

“Do you think that your friends haven’t picked up that something may be going on?”

“They could have, but no one has said anything. The bet was for twenty-four hours.”

“Do I want to know what the winner gets?” She asked, a smile on her face.

“If I win then Riley is going to move in with me. Assuming that’s allowed in the dorms.”

Kendall seemed surprised. “Really? Don’t get me wrong, but isn’t it a little soon for you guys to be sharing an apartment?’

Riley frowned. That wasn’t the response he was expecting to receive from a friend. He wasn’t hurt by the question, but it did make him a little concerned. “What do you mean?”

“I didn’t mean anything negative by my question. It’s just that you two are what, a few weeks into your relationship?”

Chase nodded. “We’re good. I don’t want to be with anyone else. There are a lot of things that can get in the way of our happiness, like what happens when our internships are over and I go back home, but we’re committed to working it out together. It’s a big step, sure, but I love Riley and he loves me. That’s all that’s important.”

Riley held Chase’s hand and kissed him quickly on the lips. Even though Riley was comfortable with his relationship, he was never one for unnecessary public displays of affection. Kendall smiled at the two of them. “Then I’m with you one hundred percent. I’ve got all the scans I need. Why don’t you two go join Tyler and Shelby?”

“Are you sure?”

Kendall nodded. “Absolutely. I’ve got enough scans to keep me busy for a few hours. I’ll be around if you guys need me for anything.”

“Okay. Thanks, Miss Morgan.”

“My pleasure. It’s good to have you both back.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, did you guess correctly? It seemed like the logical thing for them to do since Kendall was so focused on the energems and the changes that had occurred. Thanks for checking back on the story -- I hope you like the updates!


	39. Chapter 39

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We're coming to an end. I've probably said that before, but this time I mean it. I'm so honored by those of you that have stuck in there to keep reading, sometimes even with weeks passing between me releasing updates. Seriously, you all are awesome!

* * *

* * *

The four of them were seated at a table. Ivan had just brought over two burgers and an order of fries for Tyler and Shelby, and he promised to return shortly with Chase’s newly placed order of fries. Riley wasn’t hungry and he was focused on just enjoying being in the company of his friends.

“Hey, did Kendall tell you guys that she had to go around town and recalibrate all the sensors last week?”

Riley had been impressed with Kendall and Keeper’s sensor network once he was trusted enough to be given access to the inner workings. They seemed far more sophisticated than anything that was commercially available and Riley had wondered how they came to be available to Kendall. He had just assumed that it was through a grant program and left it at that.

“No. What happened?”

“No one knows. It was some kind of freak lightning storm that left charged particles in the air. It messed with some of the stop lights around town too, but those took a few days to fix. Uh, what else did you guys miss? Oh, and we had that shipment where they accidentally sent us double the hamburger buns, so we had to send those back,” Shelby said.

Riley laughed. “So nothing major happened then?”

“Nah, not really,” Tyler admitted. He offered Riley and Chase some of his fries before he took one for himself; they both politely declined. “I’m not hungry, but thank you,” Riley explained.

“It’s nice having you guys back. We’ve missed you,” Shelby said, patting both of them on the hand before taking a drink of her soda.

“We missed you too,” Riley replied.

“For sure,” Chase said. “It was nice being out in the middle of nature though.”

“I’m pretty sure Chase missed getting in some skateboard time while we were on the farm. He’s due an afternoon at the skate park.”

“I’m sure all the girls that hang out there have missed seeing you,” Shelby joked. Riley felt his face heat up with jealousy and he could only hope that it wasn’t noticeable. Before anyone else could say anything, Ivan returned with Chase’s platter of french fries. 

Chase reached for the ketchup and put some on the top before he used his hands to stir them all together. When he pulled his hands away, they were covered in small splotches of ketchup. Riley immediately offered him a napkin and Chase took it, thanking him.

“We should all do something now that we’re back in town, assuming we can all get time off at the same time.”

“Have you guys heard about that new play at the community theatre?” Shelby inquired. “It’s supposed to be a romantic comedy but it’s also supposed to be pretty scary.”

“That would be awesome,” Chase said. He took a french fry from his plate and put it into his mouth.

“Yeah, and there’s a zombie walk in a couple of weeks that looks like fun,” Tyler mentioned. “A big corporation in town is sponsoring it and they’re donating a dollar to fight hunger for every person that shows up as a zombie and walks through the streets. There’s also going to be a concert at the end, and some food vendors.”

“That would be a blast,” Riley said, already imagining how everyone would look in zombie makeup. “But I vote that I don’t have to be the one to explain what a zombie is to Koda.” He reached over and took one of Chase’s french fries and put it into his mouth.

“Okay, I’ll explain it to him and offer to protect him during the walk if someone else sits next to him at the play,” Shelby bargained. “Besides, he’d probably feel safer with one of you big, strong guys by his side if it gets too scary.”

“Deal. I nominate Ivan,” Tyler offered.

“Alright. Now we just have to inform everyone else of our plans and hope the schedules work out. So, you know, no big deal,” Shelby joked.

Riley took another couple of fries from Chase’s plate and ate them. This time all of them noticed, and of equal importance was that Chase didn’t seem to mind sharing his food. Tyler and Shelby shared a confused look before they returned to eating their own food.

“Oh, guys, my brother and mom are talking about coming to visit in a few months. We’ve got to work on Operation Matt and Kendall between now and then.”

“I can totally help you with that! I’m good at planning first dates,” Shelby commented.

Riley reached over and took another fry. He was chewing it up when Chase actually registered what was happening. “I thought you said you weren’t hungry, mate.”

“Sorry. Do you want it back?”

Chase laughed. “No, I think I’m good, bro.”

Shelby was calm one second and in the next, it was like a massive jolt of electricity had passed through her. The lightbulb in her head was suddenly active and illuminating the parts of her brain that hadn’t made the connections previously, but now everything was connected and a current was flowing. “Oh, my God. You two are together.”

Chase and Riley looked at each other, smiles on their faces. They turned back to her. “What makes you think that?”

“Riley is eating food off of your plate and you don’t even care. How many times have you told us about the girls you've gone on dates with that don’t order anything and then they eat your food? It’s like your biggest pet peeve, Chase. Even Kendall and I aren’t allowed to touch the food on your plate.”

Tyler nodded. “She’s got a point. You threatened to bite my hand that one time I ate some of your fries.”

“It doesn’t bother me when Riley does it. We’re friends. We’re bros. He’s my mate, mate.”

Riley sighed. “You’re overselling it, Chase.”

“I had to try. Face it, boyfriend. I win and you lose.”

A second moment of confusion appeared on Shelby’s face in as many minutes, and like a virus, it spread to Tyler’s. “Chase and I made a bet on the way here,” Riley began. “I bet that no one would figure it out before twenty-four hours had passed, but I guess I was wrong.”

“I knew something was different between you guys when we surprised you at the bus station, but I figured I was just imagining it. This is great!”

“Yeah, it kind of hit me by surprise,” Chase admitted.

“Wow,” Tyler interjected.  
 “What’s wrong?” Riley asked.

“I’m just thinking about all of the girls around town that are going to be devastated that Chase isn’t single and available to mingle. Riley, it’s like you stole the single most eligible bachelor right out from underneath their noses. There’s going to be so much jealousy and shade when the news of your relationship hits the masses.”

“It’s going to be epic,” Shelby said, agreeing completely with Tyler. They were unable to contain their laughter after getting a look at the genuine fear in Riley’s eyes.

“Will you protect me?” Riley asked, turning to Chase.

“In a heartbeat. I’ll even share my fries with you.”

“Then it looks like we’re moving in together, hotshot.”

“Yeah, but be honest. We were moving in together whether I won the bet or not.”

Riley nodded, a coy smile appearing on his face. “Of course. Just like you were always going to be wearing that skimpy Fireman’s outfit. I already ordered it.”


	40. Epilogue

_Eight Months Later_

“Are you sure you packed everything?” Chase asks from the other room. His voice is hushed but still loud enough for Riley to hear. It’s four in the morning and they’re preparing to leave to catch their flight to Aukland, New Zealand.

“Everything that I can’t live without is in these bags. We’re only going to be there too weeks.”

“We could stay longer,” Chase suggests. He walks into the bedroom and watches Riley finish zipping up his suitcase. He moves in closer and wraps his arms around Riley’s shoulders. “We could stay forever and never ever leave.”

Riley turns so that they’re facing one another and he hugs him, both arms wrapping around his waist. “What about Matt and my mom?”

“They can come too.”

“They’d never leave the farm.” He knew Chase understood that. “I guess we could split our time, assuming we could find jobs that would give us some flexibility.”

Chase kisses Riley’s cheek. “With a body like yours, you could always be a porn star.”

That elicits a loud laugh from Riley. His boyfriend’s comment is hardly true, he thinks, but he appreciates the vote of confidence. “Nah. You’re the only guy I want to be with. You could always become a fireman.” Riley waggles his eyebrows for added measure.

“Sure, but that involves more than just wearing the outfit and whispering dirty things in your ears.”

“How do you know?”

“I know things.”

Riley nods. “You know a lot of good things. But we have a flight to catch and I think we should enjoy spending time with your mom and sister. I mean, it’s entirely possible they’ll hate me and demand I leave the country without ever speaking to you again…”

“That would never happen. They’ll love you almost as much as I love you.”

“How can you be sure?”

“Because I know you.”

Riley lifts his head and kisses Chase on the lips. It’s passionate and just long enough to convey that he wished they had more time to keep kissing, and it certainly leaves the both of them wanting more. Instead, he backs away from Chase and turns back to collect his suitcase.

“You’re such a tease, mate.”

“I’ve come to terms with it. Chase? What if they think I turned you gay?”

The silliness of the statement causes Chase to chuckle. “So what if they do? I love you and I’m happy. Isn’t that all that matters?”

“Yes,” Riley admits. “I love you too.”

“Good. The things we do to each other would be sinful if we didn’t.”

Riley follows his boyfriend out of the bedroom and into the living room. He’s pulling two large suitcases behind him. “I’m going to miss this place.”

“Just because our internships have finished doesn’t mean we can’t come back and visit.”

Riley shakes his head. “No, I mean this apartment. It’s the first place I felt safe again after everything that happened. It was our first place together.”

“It won’t be our last,” Chase promises him.

“Am I being too sentimental?”

“No. I’m going to miss it too,” he reveals. “But the world is big and it’s safe, partially thanks to us. It would be a shame for us to miss out on it.”

“Then let’s go see it, hotshot.”

They grab what is left of their luggage that hasn’t been packed in the cab and leave the room. Chase locks the door and he catches up to Riley by the vehicle. They put their suitcases into the trunk and prepare to get inside, but Chase stops and kisses Riley before they got in. They frequently kissed, not caring who saw them or what their reaction would be, but this kiss is passionate and full of emotion. 

It’s the kind of kiss that has the power to inspire dreams and bring peace to warring nations. 

They don’t care if people have problems with how they feel about each other because as long as they’re together, everything else seems to be okay. “Uh, we’re still going to join the mile high club once we get up there, right?”

A devious smile appears on Riley’s face. “Oh, you bet your hot Kiwi ass.”

They get into the car and begin the next chapter of their lives. 

They have many good times and some bad, but they always find their way back to each other. They make memories to last lifetimes with people that become family, and they are together through it all, united by the threads of friendship that became something much more powerful.

_The End_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It is time to say goodbye. Thank you for reading. I hope this story provided you with everything you needed it to be. Sorry for changing the style in this chapter, but I felt like it needed a different style to really set it apart.
> 
> You'll notice that this chapter starts eight months down the line instead of three. I did this because I wanted the guys to be together for a bit before they go break the news to Chase's mother and sister. Also, it made sense that they would want to stay together for as long as possible rather than have to separate. Maybe Kendall gave them both an extension on their internship.


End file.
